In August this year, the Australia and New Zealand meeting of the International Society of Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT ANZ) was held in Manly, and we are pleased to have been able to help Siow Teng attend. 

Siow Teng is a scientist and Production Supervisor at Hudson Cell Therapies, a behind-the-scenes but important role in the process of stem cell transplant. Siow Teng was grateful for the support of the Arrow/Jazz Pharmaceuticals Travel and Conference Award that allowed her to attend the conference in Manly. 

Siow Teng said the ISCT ANZ conference had “an amazing beach backdrop with an equally impressive mission and vision: to translate research into safe and innovative therapeutics to improve patient lives.” 

The conference was led by key opinion leader Associate Professor Emily Blyth and featured many people who are working on cutting-edge research. Siow was pleased to have been able to learn from so many influential scientists and researchers, in particular in relation to developing CAR T-cell therapies for rare diseases such as paediatric midline glioblastoma. 

Siow said, “This conference reaffirmed the importance of Hudson Institute Cell Therapies supporting and advancing this shared translational vision” where research findings are ‘translated’ into real world medical treatments. She is looking forward to sharing what she has learned with the team back at Hudson Research, particularly the work of Associate Professor Siok Tey from Royal Brisbane Women’s Hospital. 

“Fresh in, fresh out” approach to CAR T

Siok Tey spoke about research she has been doing into the possibility of “fresh -in, fresh-out” CD19 CAR-T cells manufactured onsite for patients who are ineligible for commercial products.  

Siow Teng continues, “The trial [by Siok Tey] achieved a 14-day vein to vein timeframe compared to conventional CAR T [which can be as long as 4 to 6 weeks], showcasing the need for place-of-care CAR T-cell therapy in Australia.” 

Thank you to Jazz Pharmaceuticals

Siow Teng expressed her gratitude to Jazz Pharmaceuticals for making the scholarship available. “I would also like to extend my heartfelt thanks to Jazz Pharmaceuticals for generously making this scholarship travel award possible. I’m truly grateful for the support.” 

We here at Arrow are also grateful to Jazz Pharmaceuticals for their continuing support of our scholarships program, which makes it possible for promising nurses, scientists, and allied healthcare professionals to attend conferences and scientific meetings like the ISCT ANZ. 

You can find out more about our Travel & Conference Scholarships here.