Learning from glycobiology to engineer immunity

About this event

Jessica Stark ( Massachusetts Institute of Technology )

Dr. Jessica Stark is an Assistant Professor in the departments of Biological and Chemical Engineering and an intramural member of the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. The Stark Lab is developing biological technologies to realize the largely untapped potential of glycans for immunological discovery and immunotherapy. The lab’s work has been recognized with the Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award at the Scientific Interface, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer Rosenberg Scholar Award, a V Scholar Award from The V Foundation, and a Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Prize.

Jessica’s postdoctoral work with Prof. Carolyn Bertozzi at Stanford University established a new class of protein therapeutics that makes it possible to target glycans for cancer immunotherapy. This technology is in translation to the clinic via her co-founded company, Valora Therapeutics. During her PhD with Prof. Michael Jewett at Northwestern University, Jessica developed cell-free technologies for protein therapeutic and vaccine production that promise to enable portable and personalized medicine. Previously, she received her B.S. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from Cornell University and worked at Genentech, Inc. in process development and research and development roles.

The Stark Lab is working to train the next generation of scientists and engineers through mentoring, outreach, and service activities. To support this work, Jessica co-developed and commercialized BioBits® educational kits that promise to increase access to high-quality biology education by facilitating hands-on learning.