When biomedical engineering student Nancy Huang walked into Cal Poly’s new Cell Therapy Lab, she was met with machines more often found in industry than in classrooms. Among them was a magnetic cell separator, a tool that opened doors to new skills and new opportunities.
“This lab reignited my passion for science,” Huang said. “I had never cultured a T cell before this class. Now I’ve learned the techniques that landed me my internship in cell therapy.”
The Cell Therapy Lab, housed in the Frost Center for Research and Innovation, opened in fall 2023 as a dedicated space for teaching and research in cell-based techniques and regenerative medicine. Spearheaded by Professors Trevor Cardinal, Kristen Cardinal, and Emily Neal, the 1,500-square-foot lab provides students with state-of-the-art equipment and room to grow. Here, they can gain the comprehensive training needed to enter one of biotech’s fastest-growing fields.
The lab came together through a multi-year effort, supported by two major California Institute for Regenerative Medicine grants — $2.89 million for COMPASS, led by Kristen Cardinal, and $3.4 million for Bridges, led by Trevor Cardinal — along with contributions from the Provost’s Office, three colleges, and industry partners who donated equipment. The space features six biological safety cabinets plus advanced tools including incubators, microscopes, centrifuges and automated cell isolation systems.
Today, the lab supports both undergraduate and graduate courses, including a new cell-therapy techniques course that launched in winter 2023 as part of the COMPASS program and quickly expanded. Enrollment has doubled, with biology and biomedical engineering students learning side by side.
“The interdisciplinary nature is huge,” Huang said. “Biology and BMED students don’t always overlap, but here we’re learning together, picking up lab skills that all of us can take into industry.”
Graduate student Carly Markowski began in the pilot class as a student and later took on roles as a teaching assistant and student lab manager, helping the Cell Therapy Lab expand.
“Having more space and equipment means more students can get hands-on training,” Markowski said. “Companies are also really involved, suggesting or donating equipment like the Rotea system, which the lab now uses to separate white blood cells. That gives students chances to do extra projects and research.”
Those projects often revolve around CAR-T cell therapy, a breakthrough cancer treatment that engineers a patient’s white blood cells to attack tumors. First approved in 2017, CAR-T therapy remains at the forefront of regenerative medicine, and Cal Poly students are learning the fundamentals firsthand.
For Markowski, her role in the lab has been its own education. Over the past two years, she gained critical experience with new equipment, troubleshooting challenges, and supporting classes and research in the new space. “It was invaluable,” she said. “I learned so much about the newest technology and how to make a lab like this run.”
Markowski is nearing completion of the Regenerative Medicine master’s program, while Huang is finishing her undergraduate studies as part of the first COMPASS cohort launched in fall 2023. Those programs come to life in the Cell Therapy Lab, where students translate classroom learning into industry-ready skills.
Both have already taken that experience beyond campus. Markowski is part of a cell and gene therapy optimization group at ThermoFisher Scientific in Carlsbad through her Cal Poly Bridges internship. Huang spent six months with the cell-therapy research and development team at Novo Nordisk through her COMPASS internship, where she was praised for her strong lab skills.
Looking ahead, they hope the lab will continue to expand, with industry projects, more cell and tissue types, and increased training opportunities for students. With growing demand in the biotech sector, the timing couldn’t be better.
“The field is exploding,” Markowski said. “AI is creating even more lab work, and companies are looking for people who are already trained. This lab makes us competitive from day one.”
Learn more about Cal Poly’s regenerative medicine programs at regenmed.calpoly.edu.
By Emily Slater
