Professor Simon Barry is an expert in T cell biology and the co-inventor of Carina’s lead CAR-T cell. He is co-appointed to the Women’s & Children’s Hospital, Adelaide, and the University of Adelaide. Simon’s background in molecular biology and gene discovery led him to use unbiased genome-wide discovery platforms as a way to identify the key genes and pathways in a cell. His research team was the first in the world to use genome-wide approaches to discover the key targets of FOXP3 in human regulatory T cells (Tregs), and to validate their biological importance in vitro and in vivo. Simon’s group discovered a key target of FOXP3, SATB1, which is regulated to maintain Treg function. Simon was approached by Carina’s now MD Dr Justin Coombs to develop a CAR-T cell targeted to a specific marker on cancer cells. His lab at the Women’s & Children’s Hospital achieved this, and Carina Biotech was formed. Professor Barry is published in Nature Cell Biology and Nature Immunology, and has over 5600 citations in the scientific literature.
