Dr. Simeng Li

Dr. Simeng Li is a postdoctoral researcher working with Prof. Niall Barron at the National Institute of Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT), Ireland. She specializes in CAR-T cell therapy and AAV gene therapy, with expertise in T cell-based immune responses.

Her PhD research focused on developing an in vitro strategy to monitor endothelial-specific cytotoxic T cell responses following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for leukemia. During this time, she gained expertise in T cell immunology and MSC-based therapies. She then worked as a research assistant on endothelial protection drugs (FX06) for COVID-19-related vascular damage, further expanding her knowledge in immunology and endothelial biology.

Currently, as a postdoctoral researcher, she is involved in CAR-T cell research in collaboration with an Irish company Avectas, where she has expanded her expertise in CAR-T cell engineering and transcriptomic analysis, studying how different production methods impact CAR-T function at the molecular level.

In addition to her work in cell therapy, Dr. Li has contributed to AAV gene therapy research, focusing on an shRNA-based strategy to enhance the production yield of pro-apoptotic gene-containing AAV vectors. Through this project, she gained hands-on expertise in AAV production and broadened her knowledge of AAV-based gene therapy applications.