Blake Aftab, PhD

Scientific Advisory Council Member

Blake Aftab, Ph.D., is the Chief Scientific Officer at Adicet Bio, Inc., a biotechnology company focused on developing allogeneic gamma-delta T cell therapies for cancer and autoimmune conditions. Prior to Adicet, he served as Vice President and Head of Preclinical Science and Translational Medicine at Atara Biotherapeutics, where he played a key role in building and leading the research and translational medicine organizations while supporting initial in-licensing and development of EBVALLO® to a milestone as the first approved allogeneic T cell therapy for cancer. Earlier in his career, he led research programs at the University of California, San Francisco, focusing on drug discovery and clinical translation in multiple myeloma, contributing to early research on diverse targets and molecules, including the phase 1 development of Sarclisa® and other targets of interest for antibody-drug conjugates and CAR-T therapies. Prior his academic research, he contributed to the advancement of multiple small molecule assets while at Exelixis, including the initial discovery and preclinical development of Cotellic®. With nearly 20 years of experience in academia, biotech, and pharmaceutical industries, Dr. Aftab has successfully advanced multiple therapeutic modalities, spanning small molecules, biologics, antibody-drug conjugates, and cell therapies. Dr. Aftab earned his Ph.D. from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a B.Sc. in Pharmacology and Drug Discovery from the University of California, Santa Barbara.