Göran Gustafsson Symposium 2026: Innovative cell and gene therapies – Future developments

Dr. Okada is a highly creative physician-scientist who has developed several therapeutic modalities in his laboratory and translated them into clinical trials. Dr Okada’s work focuses of malignant brain tumours (glioma) with the aim to find ways to potentiate the immune system to recognize and eradicate glioma cells.

Dr. Okada is a pioneer in this field, and he conducted one of the first immune gene therapy trials in patients with malignant glioma. His approaches include modifying the glioma microenvironment to increase response rates to immunotherapy as well as development of novel vaccines and chimeric antigen receptor (CAR)-T cell therapies.

Professor Gunilla Enblad is a physician with a keen interest in preclinical research, primarily concerning tumour biology in lymphoma and the interaction between tumour cells and surrounding cells in the tumour microenvironment. This work has laid the foundation for her leading position in immunotherapy for lymphoma.

Enblad treated the first lymphoma patient with CAR T cells in Europe and has since participated in several academic studies involving CAR T cells, in collaboration with colleagues both in the laboratory and in the clinic. Her pioneering work in this field has attracted considerable attention and has contributed to the development of treatments and improved prognosis for patients with lymphoma.

Professor Magnus Essand has spent his research career developing novel immunotherapies for cancer. His research mainly concerns chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells, viral vectors, and oncolytic viruses, which can potentiate anti-tumour immune responses.

Essand has acted as sponsor and scientific lead in clinical trials on gene and cell therapy products developed in his laboratory. He also participated in the first treatment of cancer patients with CAR T cells in Europe. Recently, he has developed novel glioblastoma-directed CAR T cells capable of inducing bystander immunity. He has also created an adeno-associated viral vector that targets and modifies tumour vessels to increase T‑cell infiltration into brain tumours.

Assistant Professor William Nyberg’s research focuses on reprogramming T cells in vivo using advanced genetic engineering for therapeutic purposes. This is primarily achieved through the use of chimeric antigen receptors (CARs), but also by exploring additional strategies to develop new T‑cell therapies against cancer. The laboratory mainly focuses on haematological malignancies such as leukaemia and multiple myeloma.

The Nyberg laboratory is working on approaches to engineer T cells directly within patients, to reprogramme them for therapeutic purposes. This primarily involves the use of engineered adeno‑associated vectors and synthetic delivery vehicles packaged with CRISPR/Cas9 components and DNA templates for gene targeting.

Professor Per‑Ola Carlsson’s research focuses on preventing the development of type 1 diabetes and on using cell therapy to normalise glucose metabolism in patients with the disease. His work includes experimental studies investigating the ability of stem cell-derived insulin‑producing cells to adapt to new environments after transplantation to different organs.

Carlsson’s dual role as both an experimental and clinical scientist facilitates translational approaches. He is involved in clinical studies testing whether cell therapy can prevent the loss of a patient’s own insulin‑producing cells during the development of type 1 diabetes. He is also investigating how insulin‑producing cells can be transplanted without the need for immunosuppressive treatment.

Professor Angelica Loskog’s research focuses on the activation and expansion of tumour-reactive T cells in vivo by gene-engineering of the tumour microenvironment with adenoviral vectors. She also has an interest in CAR T cells and has initiated studies in Sweden and supported their use at academic sites in Europe.

Her research includes invention, preclinical confirmation, and clinical trials, both academically and in collaboration with the biotech industry. The first product from her research platform to reach pivotal registration trials is LOAd703. It received Fast Track Designation for the treatment of pancreatic cancer in the United States in 2025.

Professor Samir El Andaloussi and his team develop innovative and efficient drug-delivery technologies that enable extrahepatic delivery of RNA therapeutics and gene editors in a precise manner. Their work focuses on natural nanocarriers, i.e. bioengineered extracellular vesicles (EVs), and synthetic nanoparticles such as targeted lipid nanoparticles.

The El Andaloussi laboratory bridges mechanistic studies with preclinical models and industry collaborations. Their portfolio of streamlined nanoparticle production and characterisation methods, together with extensive experience in genetic EV engineering, has positioned the group at the forefront of EV research.

Senior Lecturer Fredrik Swartling studies how childhood brain cancers develop, aiming to find new treatments for these tumours. His team uses advanced modelling systems and single‑cell analysis to examine genetic changes and proteins that are dysregulated in brain tumours.

The Swartling research group is also working to understand why some tumours relapse and how they can be treated. This includes investigating critical pathways involved in relapse driven by the protein SOX9. This protein is important for stem cell features as well as for promoting therapy resistance. Additionally, the group is developing novel gene therapies to target cancer cells that become resistant to standard treatments.

Professor Anna Dimberg is studying tumour vascular biology with the aim identifying vascular targeting strategies that can be used to improve the response to cancer therapy, including immunotherapy.

Vascular targeting can be used to improve the response to cancer immunotherapy. Dimberg and her team are investigating strategies to improve leukocyte recruitment by altering tumour vessel phenotype, using a gene therapy approach to induce high endothelial venules and tertiary lymphoid structures. The goal is to find new vascular-targeting strategies that can be used to boost anti-tumour immune response and improve patient prognosis.