Michael Gustafson, PhD, is a Consultant in the Division of Laboratory Medicine and Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology with a joint appointment in the Department of Immunology. He is an Associate Professor of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, and Laboratory Director of the Nyberg Human Cellular Therapy Laboratory at the Mayo Clinic Arizona Phoenix campus. Dr. Gustafson received his undergraduate degree in Biology at North Park University in Chicago, and his PhD degree in Biomedical Sciences- Molecular Biology at the Mayo Clinic and completed his post-doctoral fellowship at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, WA. Dr. Gustafson currently serves as the co-Chair of the Immuno and Gene Therapy committee for the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy and participates in other societies including the American Society for Transplantation and Cell Therapy, Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, American Association for Cancer Research, and the International Society for Exercise and Immunology. Dr. Gustafson has over 15 years of experience in process development and biomanufacturing of cell-based therapies for use in clinical trials. Dr. Gustafson’s clinical and research interests include developing and translating cell and immune based therapies for the treatment of cancer, autoimmunity, and other diseases into clinical trials. His work additionally focuses on understanding systemic immunity, how cancer alters the immune landscape in humans, and methods for tailoring the patient’s immune system to the most optimal cell and/or immune based therapy.