Julie Shi, Ph.D.

Dr. Julie Shi has over 8 years of experience in the biotech industry, specializing in cell and gene therapy development. She has held key technical leadership roles at Juno Therapeutics, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Sana Biotechnology, contributing to the advancement of autologous and allogeneic CAR-T and TCR-T cell therapy programs. Julie combines deep scientific expertise in non-viral gene delivery technologies, including lipid nanoparticles, gene editing, and transposons, with a proven track record of developing scalable and clinically relevant manufacturing processes.

Her work spans early-stage research through pivotal process development, where she has been instrumental in driving the advancement of novel gene and cell therapies. Julie has contributed to regulatory submissions, including authoring technical reports in support of IND filings, and has played a central role in advancing multiple programs through the development pipeline. She has also led technical due diligence efforts and developed technology roadmaps, providing strategic insights for investment and pipeline decisions. Julie holds a patent for a lipid nanoparticle formulation process, has authored several publications, and has been invited to speak at conferences to share her expertise in gene delivery technologies for cell therapy.

As a data-driven leader, Julie is skilled at implementing data analysis workflows to optimize manufacturing processes. She utilizes QbD approaches, including Design of Experiments (DOE) methodology, to ensure process robustness and accelerate the transition from R&D to commercial-scale production. Her leadership experience includes building and managing cross-functional teams, establishing new process development labs, and driving tech transfer and process optimization efforts.

She holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from MIT and earned her PhD in Bioengineering from the University of Washington, where she focused on non-viral gene delivery, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Toronto on peptide drug delivery systems.