CMaT researchers, trainees, and partners at the 2025 CMaT Summit

 

The 2025 CMaT Summit, held at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, brought together researchers, industry partners, and trainees for three days of collaboration and celebration. The event kicked off on Aug. 6 with a state of the center address by CMaT Director Johnna Temenoff, followed by a moving discussion with cell therapy patient Austin Schuetz and his mother. Later in the day, the poster session featured more than 30 CMaT trainee posters alongside contributions from industry members and Marcus Center researchers. Students also presented their work orally during sessions dedicated to each CMaT test-bed. 

On Aug. 7, the excitement continued with an industry panel covering current trends in cell and gene therapies; the Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Competition, where participants delivered compelling presentations of their research; and mentorship training for trainees and PIs. Throughout the summit, breakout discussions centered on remaining challenges in scale-up of cell production, as well as goal setting for research projects in the next year.  At the end of the day, trainees enjoyed a tour of WiCell Research Institute. 

Finally, on Aug. 8, we proudly reinstated the CMaT Trainee Service Awards, honoring individuals who have gone above and beyond in outreach, research, mentoring, and service to the CMaT community. Many thanks also to the CMaT SLC for organizing an entertaining raffle with prizes donated by CMaT PIs to cap off our event! 

Poster Session Award Winners 

  • First Place (Tie):
  • Makayla Garner – Georgia Tech (Temenoff Lab)
  • Thomas Spoerer – UGA (Marklein & Gomillion Labs)
  • Second Place: Meghana Kalluri – UW–Madison (Skala Lab)
  • People’s Choice: Andy Zhang – UW–Madison (Palecek & Skala Labs)
  • Summer Trainee Winner: Ashley Helm – UGA (Stice Lab) 

Three Minute Thesis (3MT) Award Winners 

  • Overall Winner: Ruiping Tang – UGA (Karumbaiah Lab)
  • Runner-Up: Carlos Barreto-Gamarra – UPRM (Domenech Lab)
  • People’s Choice: Nina Denne – UW–Madison (Saha Lab) 

Trainee Service Award Winners 

  • Outreach Award: Carolina Colón – Georgia Tech (Sulchek Lab)
  • Outstanding Research Award: Carlos Barreto-Gamarra – UPRM (Domenech Lab); Zhaowei Li – Georgia Tech (White Lab)
  • Above and Beyond Award: Apoorva Ramamurthy – UW–Madison (Saha & Murphy Labs); Gianna Slusher – Georgia Tech (Fedorov Lab); Fathima Shabnam – UW–Madison (Palecek Lab)
  • Mentoring Award: Nina Denne – UW–Madison (Saha Lab); Rachel Carlyle – UGA (Kner Lab); Erika Bowen – UGA (Gomillion Lab); Md Marzan Sarkar – UGA (Stice Lab); Daniel Shah – Georgia Tech (Botchwey Lab); Lauren Sarko – UW–Madison (Saha Lab); Xiangyu Zhang – UGA (De La Fuente Lab); Alibeth Luna – UPRM (Cabrera Lab); Gustavo Bertran – UPRM (Cabrera Lab)
  • Curriculum Enhancement Award: Morgane Golan – UGA (Stice Lab)
  • Industry Award: Amin Davarzani – UGA (Karumbaiah & Mao Labs)