Jodi Murakami
About Jodi Murakami
Jodi Murakami is the Director of Cell Therapy Research at Kite Pharma, where she has worked since 2021. She has extensive experience in T cell biology and has contributed to multiple patent applications and significant advancements in CAR-T cell therapy.
Current Role at Kite Pharma
Jodi Murakami currently serves as the Director of Cell Therapy Research at Kite Pharma, a position she has held since 2021. In this role, she supervises and mentors a team of Research Associates and Scientists, focusing on advancing cell therapy research. Her leadership contributes to the development of innovative therapies in the field of oncology.
Previous Experience at Kite Pharma
Prior to her current role, Jodi Murakami worked at Kite Pharma as a Research Scientist in T Cell Biology from 2016 to 2018 and later as a Senior Research Scientist I from 2018 to 2020. During her tenure, she played a key role in the scientific team that successfully filed the Investigational New Drug (IND) application for KITE-363, a CAR-T cell therapy targeting CD19 and CD20.
Education and Expertise
Jodi Murakami earned her Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Microbiology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, where she studied from 2006 to 2009. She then pursued a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Biological Sciences at the Irell & Manella Graduate School of Biological Sciences, completing her studies from 2009 to 2016. Her educational background provides a strong foundation for her research in cell therapy.
Teaching and Academic Contributions
Throughout her career, Jodi Murakami has engaged in academia as a guest lecturer at various institutions. She taught Introduction to Biology III at California State University-Los Angeles in 2016 and Recent Advances in Biological Sciences at Cal Poly Pomona in 2012. Additionally, she served as a Teaching Assistant and Graduate Researcher at the City of Hope Graduate School of Biological Sciences from 2009 to 2016.
Patent Applications and Research Contributions
Between 2021 and 2022, Jodi Murakami filed three patent applications, reflecting her contributions to innovative research in cell therapy. Her work in this area demonstrates her commitment to advancing scientific knowledge and developing new therapeutic approaches.