Steven Balk, M.D., Ph.D.,

is Associate Professor of Hematology and Oncology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Harvard Medical School Teaching Hospital.  Dr. Balk is an academic co-founder of the Company and an expert in the application of natural killer T cells to the treatment of cancer.  His primary research interest is to better understand the role of NKT cells in immune surveillance with the objective of using this information to develop more effective immunotherapeutic approaches to treating cancer.   He is currently conducting clinical studies in advanced cancer patients using 6B11 antibody purified and ex vivo expanded autologous iNKT cells re-infused back into patients. The cell therapy is FDA approved (SP Balk, IND holder) and received final IRB approval in July 2007. The results of this trial are pending.  Dr. Balk is trained as a Hematologist and Oncologist. He received his B.S. from University of Pennsylvania and his MD and Ph.D. from the Harvard-MIT combined Physician-Scientist training program.  Dr. Balk completed post-graduate training at New England-Deaconess Hospital and Beth Israel Hospital.  He currently holds grants from DFCI and the NIH to conduct laboratory and clinical studies on the role of NKT cells in cancer.