Simrit Parmar

Dr. Simrit Parmar is an Associate Professor at Texas A&M University School of Medicine's Department of Microbial Pathogenesis & Immunology. She is a pioneer in allogeneic T regulatory cell (Treg) therapy for autoimmune/inflammatory diseases, founding Cellenkos Inc. to advance clinical-stage therapies. Her research focuses on cord blood-derived Tregs for conditions like graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), myelofibrosis, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). She has held faculty positions at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center and UT Southwestern Medical Center, specializing in hematology/oncology and bone marrow transplantation. Dr. Parmar has led multiple clinical trials including Phase 1/2 studies of CK0801-CK0804, with over 75 patients enrolled across indications.

• Education: MBBS from Dayanand Medical College (1998), MS in Clinical Investigation from Northwestern University (2004)
• Certifications: Hematology/Oncology Fellowship at Northwestern, Bone Marrow Transplant Fellowship at MD Anderson

Her research bridges basic immunology and clinical translation, with over 20 peer-reviewed publications in journals like Blood, Haematologica, and NEJM Evidence. She received the R. Lee Clark Fellowship (2014) and serves on professional committees including the Asia Pacific Hematology Consortium and RITN at MD Anderson.

Key therapeutic developments include: CK0801 for bone marrow failure, CK0802 for severe COVID-19 ARDS, CK0803 for ALS, and CK0804 for myelofibrosis. Her lab pioneered Treg homing mechanisms and their role in modulating inflammation without suppressing antitumor immunity.