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Biography
Dr. Leidy D. Caraballo Galva is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Immunology and a member of the Integrated Center for Cellular Therapy (ICCT) at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Her research combines immunology, synthetic biology, genetic engineering, and biochemical engineering to develop next-generation cellular immunotherapies for pediatric and adult solid tumors.
Dr. Caraballo Galva earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic, a M.S. in Biochemical Engineering from the National Institute of Applied Sciences (INSA) in France, and a Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine with a focus on tumor immunology and T-cell engineering from Augusta University.
Prior to joining MUSC, she conducted research at Boston University, where she contributed to the development of synthetic biology tools and gene regulatory systems for mammalian cells and T-cell engineering. During her doctoral training, she developed novel GPC3-targeted CAR T cells for hepatocellular carcinoma and demonstrated that low-affinity CAR T cells can resist exhaustion and mediate durable antitumor responses.
During her postdoctoral and instructor training at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children’s Hospital, Dr. Caraballo Galva developed innovative synthetic gene regulatory technologies designed to enhance CAR T-cell function in solid tumors. This work led to the development of novel cell state-responsive gene regulation platforms, multiple scientific presentations, patent applications, and the creation of DRIMS, a synthetic biology platform that accelerates DNA engineering and molecular design.
Today, her laboratory is focused on developing next-generation synthetic immunology tools, engineered cell therapies, and advanced manufacturing technologies that improve the safety, persistence, and efficacy of CAR T-cell therapies for solid tumors, with the ultimate goal of bringing transformative treatments to patients with cancer.