João Manuel Santos

João obtained his Master Degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology at the University of Coimbra, Portugal in 2015, with a thesis on engineered T-cell production for hematological malignancies. In 2016, he became a PhD student in the field of cancer immunotherapy under a European industrial doctorate programme funded by the European Union Marie Skłodowska-Curie actions. As a doctoral student, he conducted several research projects on the application of oncolytic adenoviruses for improving adoptive T-cell therapies in solid tumors, mostly in Finland, at TILT Biotherapeutics, but also in the Netherlands. Besides acquiring extensive scientific expertise, the programme enabled him to extend his knowledge in clinical aspects of cancer immunotherapy and develop a business view of the biotech landscape. João also consulted for TILT’s preclinical research activities throughout 2019. In early 2020, he became Head of Cell Therapy leading TILT’s intellectual property and cell therapy clinical programmes whilst continuing to contribute to innovation-related research operations.