Simón Vidal

Head of T Cell Therapeutics

Simón is a stem cell biologist with a keen interest in developing gene and cell therapy methods for regenerative medicine and longevity. Before joining Retro, Simón was a scientist and group leader in the Department of Cell and Gene Therapy and a postdoctoral fellow in the department of Research Biology and Discovery Oncology at Genentech. There, his team helped start from scratch a new stem cell laboratory and stem cell-related programs with the goal of utilizing induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and iPSC-derived T cells for cell therapy applications. Simón conducted his undergraduate and master studies in Chile at the Universidad Andres Bello and received a PhD. from NYU School of Medicine in the laboratory of Matthias Standtfeld. While there, Simón studied the molecular mechanisms of cell reprogramming and discovered novel methods to increase the quality, kinetics, and efficiency of mouse iPSC reprogramming. In his free time, he likes to hike with his wife and dog, spend time with friends and family and go for MTB, gravel, and road bike rides.