Michel Sadelain, MD, PhD
Stephen and Barbara Friedman Chair
Director, Center for Cell Engineering
Member, Molecular Pharmacology and Chemistry Program
Member, Department of Medicine and Pediatrics
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Professor, Weill Medical College of Cornell University
New York, NY
Michel Sadelain, MD, PhD, is the director of the Center for Cell Engineering and the Stephen and Barbara Friedman Chair at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. After earning a medical degree from the University of Paris, France, and a PhD in Immunology from the University of Alberta, Canada, Dr. Sadelain trained at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, before joining MSKCC in 1994.
Dr. Sadelain investigates cell-based therapies to treat cancer and genetic disorders. His group was the first to demonstrate the feasibility of treating β-thalassemia by transferring the human β-globin gene in bone marrow stem cells of thalassemic mice, paving the way for clinical trials aiming to cure severe globin disorders with genetically engineered hematopoietic stem cells. His laboratory also pioneered different strategies to target T lymphocytes to tumor cells and augment their anti-tumoral activity by reprogramming their antigen specificity and costimulatory support. His recent work explores the therapeutic potential of induced pluripotent stem cells, in particular the identification of genomic “safe harbors” for safe and effective genetic engineering.