James L. Riley, PhD

James L. Riley, PhD is a Professor of Microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania. His lab studies the cell biology and therapeutic use of primary human T cells. This work has led to several Phase I clinical trials that are testing T cell-based therapies to treat HIV, cancer and autoimmune diseases. He is currently leading two large consortiums that are proposing combination immunotherapy to cure HIV. Additionally, Dr. Riley leads a Helmsley Foundation grant and NIH grant to engineer regulatory T cells to facilitate islet transplant. Dr. Riley graduated from Vanderbilt University with a BS in Molecular Biology, studying Dictyostelium discoideum, and subsequently earned his PhD from Emory University in Dr. Jeremy Boss’ laboratory, studying the gene regulation of MHC class II genes. As an officer in the US Army, he received postdoctoral training in Dr. Carl June’s laboratory, where he developed an interested in T cell signaling pathways. He is a scientific founder of Tmunity Therapeutics that was acquired by Kite Pharma, a Gilead company and BlueWhale Bio. Dr. Riley serves as a senior scientific advisor for Kite Pharma.