Aaron Edwards
CEO & Co-Founder KiraGen Bio
Aaron Edwards is Co-Founder and CEO of KiraGen Bio, a Boston-based biotech developing off-the-shelf CAR-T therapies that resist tumor microenvironment suppression through multiplex gene editing. He spent four years at Bluebird Bio contributing to the first wave of CAR-T programs to reach the clinic, followed by four years at Beam Therapeutics leading in vitro biology for BEAM-201, the first quadruple base-edited CAR-T in clinical trials. Aaron holds dual master’s degrees in Biotechnology (MS/MBA) from Harvard and in Medical Sciences from Boston University. KiraGen’s lead program is a six-knockout, dual-targeting CAR-T for glioblastoma.
Seminars
Wednesday 18th February 2026
Panel Discussion – Navigating Next-Generation GBM Immunotherapies & Delineating a Path to Clinical Success
11:00 am
- Diving into the scientific breakthroughs in GBM immunotherapies including oncolytic viruses, cell therapies and bispecific antibodies to overcome immunosuppression in the brain
- Navigating the biomarker validation process in order to identify reliable and predictive biomarkers accurately assess the effect of immunotherapies for GBM
- Advancing clinical endpoints for immunotherapies to overcome challenges involved with pseudo-progression
Wednesday 18th February 2026
Multiplex-Edited CAR-T in GBM: Building a Blueprint to Overcome TME Barriers
9:00 am
- Lessons from prior GBM CAR-T trials defining durability requirements and key TME barriers
- Rationale for multiplex editing and validation in patient-derived GBM models
- Why allogeneic CAR-T is well-suited for GBM compared to other modalities
Tuesday 17th February 2026
Exploring Strategies to Define Direct Vs Indirect Target Engagement with Glioblastomas
11:00 am
- Join this workshop to establish a clear framework for defining direct target engagement direct vs indirect target engagement
- Navigating the application of cutting-edge preclinical methodologies to confirm on-target binding with GBM cells such as mass spectrometry, thermal shift assays and radiolabels compounds for PET imaging to visualize drugtarget engagement.
- Analyzing changes in signalling pathways, gene expression and immune cell phenotypes within the GBM tumour microenvironment
- Advancing biomarker tracking within the blood-brain barrier to track drug effect with ctDNA and immune markers
- Deepening the understanding of direct vs indirect engagement to understand the design rationale of combination therapies
- Driving the analysis of PK/PD markers to monitor the emergence of drug resistance in recurring GBMs
