Cell therapy is a rapidly evolving field with the potential to transform medicine, particularly in treating cancer and autoimmune diseases. It involves engineering healthy cells, either from the patient (autologous) or a donor (allogeneic), to enhance their therapeutic abilities. These modified cells can replace damaged tissue or activate biological processes that help fight disease. Allogeneic cell therapy is gaining momentum for its “off-the-shelf” potential and cost-effectiveness, offering rapid deployment advantages in scenarios such as pandemics or for immune-compromised individuals experiencing infection-related complications.

While cell therapies are becoming routine worldwide, a made-in-Canada solution is not yet available. To expand Canada’s domestic capacity, Dr. Peter Zandstra and Dr. Megan Levings from UBC’s School of Biomedical Engineering aim to develop allogeneic cell therapies to address the long-term effects of viral infections. The project will combine engineering, genomics and pre-clinical testing to identify new cell therapy agents that can reverse virus-induced damage and establish scalable manufacturing and infrastructure to swiftly adapt therapies for emerging viral threats. This project seeks to enhance accessibility and scalability, positioning cell therapy as a viable treatment option across the country.