Michael Jensen, MD

Dr. Jensen is a co-founder of Umoja Biopharma and co-chair of the Scientific Advisory Board. He is an internationally recognized leader in the field of CAR T-cell immunotherapy with over 20-years’ experience in the research and clinical translation of this therapeutic modality. He has focused the application of his work to childhood cancers. Dr. Jensen is a professor of hematology-oncology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. He is member of the clinical division in the Program in Immunology at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center (FHCRC). Jensen holds the Janet and Jim Sinegal Endowed Chair in Pediatric Solid Tumor Research in Honor of Korey Rose.

Dr. Michael Jensen graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine then completed training in Pediatric Hematology and Oncology at the University of Washington/Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. His laboratory work began under the mentorship of Dr. Philip Greenberg, Program Head in Immunology, FHCRC and focused on the immunobiology of tumor-specific T-cells. Following completion of his fellowship, Dr. Jensen joined the faculty at the City of Hope National Medical Center where he built a translational research program integrating gene therapy and cellular immunotherapy for cancer. This program grew in to the Department of Cancer Immunotherapeutics & Tumor Immunology within the Beckman Research Institute and was incorporated into the institutions NCI-Comprehensive Cancer Center as the Cancer Immunotherapeutics Program with Dr Jensen as its leader. During his tenure at City of Hope, Dr Jensens research program placed a strong emphasis on bench-to-bedside translational research and resulted in seven FDA-authorized Investigational New Drug Applications covering first-in-human applications of adoptive transfer of genetically engineered T-cells having re-directed tumor specificity for lymphoma, neuroblastoma, and malignant gliomas. In 2010, Dr Jensen joined the University of Washington School of Medicine faculty as a Professor of Pediatrics and is the founding director of the Ben Towne Center for Childhood Cancer Research. He holds the Janet and Jim Sinegal endowed chair in pediatric cancer research. Dr. Jensen is an Adjunct Professor of Bioengineering and Neurological Surgery at the University of Washington School of Medicine and a Joint Member of the Clinical Research Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Dr. Jensen is an Associate Head of the Immunology and Vaccine Development Program of the UW-FHCRC Cancer Consortium and is a SU2C Dream Team Principal Investigator on the recently awarded Pediatric Cancer Research Immunogenomics Dream Team award.