I completed my Bachelor’s in the Molecular Biology and Genetics department of the University of Thrace, Greece. I obtained my PhD from the University of Thrace and the University of Pennsylvania. During my PhD, I trained in the field of gene-engineering of primary human T cells with tumor-directed CARs and TCRs. Following my PhD, I undertook my postdoctoral training at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research of the University of Lausanne. In the course of my postdoc, I developed universal and highly reproducible methods for gene-engineering of primary mouse T cells and I evaluated the potency of next generation co-engineered CAR-T cells combined with several immunotherapeutic approaches in various mouse tumor mice. Afterwards I worked as a research associate and since 2022 I am a team leader in Prof. George Coukos’ lab.Key publicationsChoosing the Right Tool for Genetic Engineering: Clinical Lessons from Chimeric Antigen Receptor-T Cells. Irving M., Lanitis E., Migliorini D., Ivics Z., Guedan S., 2021/10. Human gene therapy, 32 (19-20) pp. 1044-1058. Peer-reviewed.Optimized gene engineering of murine CAR-T cells reveals the beneficial effects of IL-15 coexpression.Lanitis E., Rota G., Kosti P., Ronet C., Spill A., Seijo B., Romero P., Dangaj D., Coukos G., Irving M., 2021/02/01. The Journal of experimental medicine, 218 (2) pp. e20192203. Peer-reviewed.All systems go: converging synthetic biology and combinatorial treatment for CAR-T cell therapy.Lanitis E, Coukos G, Irving M. Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2020 Oct;65:75-87. doi: 10.1016/j.copbio.2020.01.009. Epub 2020 Feb 25.VEGFR-2 redirected CAR-T cells are functionally impaired by soluble VEGF-A competition for receptor binding. Lanitis E, Kosti P, Ronet C, Cribioli E, Rota G, Spill A, Reichenbach P, Zoete V, Dangaj Laniti D, Coukos G, Irving M.