Cellular Therapies Section Coordinating Committee (2025-2026)

Ronit Slotky, PhD, MSc, CABP (Chair)
Director, Cell Therapies Manufacturing Facility
Associate Professor of Oncology, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Hackensack University Medical Center
Hackensack, NJ, USA
ronit.slotky@hmhn.org

Eapen K. Jacob, MD (Vice Chair)
Consultant Division of Transfusion Medicine
Associate Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology
Fellowship Director, Human Cellular Therapy Fellowship
Medical Director, Human Cellular Therapy Lab
Associate Director, IMPACT Lab
Associate Medical Director, Immunohematology Reference Lab
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, MN, USA
Jacob.Eapen@mayo.edu

Brenda Alder, MS, MT(ASCP)SBB, CABPH(AABB)
Lab Quality and Regulatory Manager,
Hematopoietic Stem Cell Lab and Tissue Banks,
Northside Hospital System
Atlanta, GA, USA
Brenda.Alder@Northside.com

Asawari (Asa) Bapat, MD, CABP(H)
Clinical Pathologist (MBBS, DPB, CPS)
Hospital & Healthcare Management (PGDHHM)
Certified Advanced Biotherapies Professional (CABP) (H)
Diplomate of American Board of regenerative Medicine (DABRM)
Fellow of American Board of regenerative Medicine (FABRM).

• CEO & Founder, Questar Enterprise, LLC, Dubai, UAE
• VP-Infohealth FZE, Dubai, UAE
• Consultant- AABB Global Impact Consulting, MD, USA
• Consultants- Oncology Services, London, UK
• Consultant- Clinical Affairs, Regenerative Outcomes, LLC, Nashville, TN, USA

drasawaribapat@gmail.com

Nelly Colina-Bernitt, MHSC, MLT
Program Manager
Quality Assurance & Regulatory Affairs
OneBlood
Ft. Lauderdale, FL USA
Nelly.Colina-Bernitt@oneblood.org

Laura Connelly-Smith, BPharm, MBBCh, DM
Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology
University of Washington (UW) and Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
Medical Director of Apheresis and the Cellular Therapy Laboratory, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center
Seattle, WA, USA
lsconnel@fredhutch.org

Wanxing Cui, MD, PhD, CABP(H)
Director, Cell Therapy Manufacturing Facility
MedStar Georgetown University Hospital
Washington DC, USA
Wanxing.cui@gunet.georgetown.edu

Claudio Darío Dufour, MD
Staff physician, Navy Hospital Buenos Aires
Professor of Hematology, University of Buenos Aires School of Medicine
Medical Director at Cryoholdco Biocells Biotech
Hematology Consultant, D. Thompson Hospital
Buenos Aires, Argentina
claudiodufour@yahoo.com.ar

Andrew Fesnak, MD
Assistant Professor of Clinical Pathology
Deputy Director, Clinical Cell and Vaccine Production Facility at the University of Pennsylvania
Director, Hematopoietic Stem Cell and Cell Processing Laboratory
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA, USA
fesnak@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Vasiliki Kalodimou, PhD, CABP(H)
Director, Flow Cytometry-Research and Regenerative Medicine Department of IASO Hospital, Greece CBB Director & Processing Facility Director at MedStem
Collaborative partner, Greek Research Infrastructure NCSR "DEMOKRITOS"
Collaborative partner training and research for Regenerative Medicine Program Institute of Personalized Molecular Medicine, Medical City Hospital, Philippines
Board/Committee Research Ethics, National Hellenic Research Foundation (Ε.Ι.Ε)
Vice-Chair UEL Alumni Advisory Board, UK
kalodimou@yahoo.gr

Melissa Marlowe, MBA
VP, Clinical Services Administration
HLA, Cellular Therapy Laboratories and Clinical Support Services, Vitalant
Tempe, AZ, USA
MMarlowe@vitalant.org

María De Los Ángeles (Angie) Muñiz, MD
Assistant Professor, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine
Associate Director, Pathology Residency Program (Clinical Pathology)
University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus
Medical Services Administration (ASEM) | Clinical Laboratory Medical Director
Medical Director Banco de Sangre De Puerto Rico Centro Médico Blood Center
maria.muniz3@upr.edu

Olive J. Sturtevant, MHP, MT(ASCP)SBB, SLS, CQA(ASQ)
Senior Administrative Director of the Connell & O’Reilly Families
Cell Manipulation Core Facility (CMCF)
Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI)
Boston, MA, USA
olive_sturtevant@dfci.harvard.edu

Yvette Tanhehco, PhD, MD, MS, CABP
Associate Professor of Pathology and Cell Biology
Director of the Cellular Therapy Laboratory
Assistant Director of Transfusion Medicine
New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Irving Medical Center
New York, NY, USA
yct2103@cumc.columbia.edu

Thomas Zachary Thompson, MD, CABP
Senior Associate Consult
Medical Director, Human Cell Therapy Lab
Assistant Professor Laboratory Medicine and Pathology
Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science
Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology
Mayo Clinic
Jacksonville, FL, USA
Thompson.Thomas@mayo.edu

Bill Ward, MT(ASCP), DLM, LSSGB, CABP
Senior Director, Quality Bioservices
Vitalant, USA
WWard@vitalant.org

Thomas R. Spitzer, MD (CTSCC Chair Emeritus)
Medical and Laboratory Director
Cellular Therapy and Transplantation Laboratory
Emeritus Director of the Bone Marrow Transplant Program
Massachusetts General Hospital
Professor of Medicine
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA, USA
tspitzer@mgh.harvard.edu