Dr Tessa Gargett is an immunologist and cell therapy specialist working at the Centre for Cancer Biology, UniSA and the Royal Adelaide Hospital. As the lead research on the CARPETS trial she established CAR-T manufacturing for melanoma patients in Adelaide, with results of 12 patients treated in this first-in-human study reported in 2024 (Gargett et al JITC, 2024). She now leads a preclinical and clinical research program investigating the application of GD2-targeting CAR-T cells for treatment of brain tumours. She is the scientific lead for two ongoing trials: KARPOS trial for adult glioblastoma at the Royal Adelaide Hospital (PI Michael Brown) and the LEVI’S CATCH trial for paediatric diffuse midline glioma at the Sydney Children’s Hospital (PIs David Ziegler and Neevika Manoharan). In this role she is responsible for both CAR-T manufacturing and patient biomarker analysis using cytometric and “omics” approaches to uncover patient responses to treatment. She also works with collaborators at the SA Neurological Tumour Bank and Centre for Cancer Biology on preclinical patient-derived xenograft and syngeneic mouse models to investigate the microenvironmental factors governing CAR-T activity in brain tumours.
In recognition of her expertise in cell and gene therapy she is a fourth-term member of the Gene Technology Technical Advisory Committee to the OGTR and is the current treasurer for the International Society of Cell and Gene Therapy ANZ Regional Executive. Her career goal is to help realize the potential of cell and gene therapies to transform the lives of patients.
ACS CONFERENCE 2026 