Kristen M. Hege

Dr. Kristen Hege is a renowned physician-scientist and a pioneer in advancing cell therapies through clinical development to regulatory approval. She currently serves as senior vice president, early clinical development, hematology/oncology, and cell therapy at Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS) where her team is responsible for advancing the pipeline from first-in-human studies to clinical proof-of-concept. Notably, Dr. Hege led the development of Abecma (idecabtagene vicleucel; ide-cel), the first BCMA-directed CAR T cell immunotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma from product concept to approval in partnership with bluebird bio. Prior to BMS, Dr. Hege held multiple executive roles at several biotech companies, including Celgene, Cell Genesys, Cellerant Therapeutics, and Theraclone Sciences. Dr. Hege, a hematologist-oncologist, is also a Clinical Professor of Medicine at the University of California (UCSF), San Francisco, where she continues to manage patients with benign and malignant blood disorders. Dr. Hege also serves on the board of directors of Mersana Therapeutics and was elected to the board of directors for the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) for a three-year term from 2016-2019.