Cliona M. Rooney

Dr. Rooney is a Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, Molecular Virology and Microbiology, and Pathology and Director of Translational Research Laboratories of the Center for Cell and Gene Therapy at Baylor College of Medicine.

Dr. Rooney is a renowned virologist and immunologist who, in collaboration with Drs. Heslop and Brenner, was the first to demonstrate that antigen-specific T cells generated in the laboratory could prevent and cure viral-associated malignancies in humans following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. She has been key in extending this successful strategy to develop and clinically test a range of post-transplant viral infections and diseases.

Dr. Rooney has published over 200 peer reviewed articles on immunotherapies for virus and non-virus-associated malignancies and diseases. She serves on the Editorial Boards for several scientific journals, including Molecular Therapy, Cytotherapy, Molecular and Cellular Therapies.

Dr. Rooney is a founder member and scientific advisory board member of Marker Therapeutics, a founder member of Allovir, and a co-founder of ViraCyte, LLC. She holds a Ph.D. in immunology from the University of Cambridge and a B.Sc. in Genetics from the University of East Anglia in England.