Meet the Team

Prabhakar Baliga, M.D.

Chair and Medical Director

Hongjun Wang, Ph.D.

Co-Scientific Director Islet Processing and Stem Cell Therapy Programs: The Wang Laboratory focuses on pancreatic islet cell biology and transplantation immunology in the treatment of type 1 and type 2 diabetes and chronic pancreatitis. 

Shikhar Mehrotra , Ph.D.

Co-Scientific Director Oncology and Immunotherapy Programs: Research interests include T cell biology, Activation Induced Cell Death of a T cell (AICD), T cell development in immunity and tolerance, identification of high-affinity TCR for prostate cancer, the role of cytokines in T cell persistence. 

Meet the Research Staff

Tara Duke, MLS (ASCP)^CM

Tara Duke is the Director of Regulatory Affairs and Quality Assurance, experienced in providing oversight in the areas of quality control, quality assurance, and quality improvement as it applies to the Center for Cellular Therapy (CCT). She is responsible for ensuring that all procedures and policies comply with the regulatory requirements of applicable agencies and that these standards are consistently followed by staff. She continuously monitors regulatory and accreditation updates to maintain full compliance with any changes, additions, deletions, or version revisions. She is dedicated to upholding the highest quality standards for all products and services provided by the CCT.

Inhong Kang, Ph.D.
GMP Lab Supervisor/Staff Scientist III

Inhong Kang, Ph.D.  is responsible for managing staff schedules and overseeing all laboratory procedures in the Center for Cellular Therapy. She also trains staff members and develops and edits standard operating procedures (SOPs). She earned her B.S. in Biology, her M.S. in Genetic Engineering, and her Ph.D. in Molecular Medicine. She completed eight years of postdoctoral research at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC). Her extensive academic and research background provides her with a strong foundation in multiple biological disciplines, including molecular biology, immunology, and genetics.

Wenyu Gou, Ph.D.
Research Instructor

Wenyu Gou, Ph.D..is responsible for training staff and conducting research on islet processing and stem cell therapy in the Center for Cellular Therapy. Her main research focuses on islet transplantation and islet cell biology. Islet transplantation is an effective treatment for patients with diabetes and for those undergoing total pancreatectomy with auto-islet transplantation. However, most islet cells die immediately after transplantation due to hypoxia and innate inflammatory responses. Preventing islet cell death following transplantation increases the likelihood of patients achieving insulin independence. Although exogenous insulin administration can help control blood glucose levels, it does not fully correct the underlying metabolic disorder. Her current research investigates the mechanisms of clinical therapies and the biology of islet cells.

Sadie McKenzie, B.S.
Research Specialist II

Sadie McKenzie, B.S.obtained her B.S. degree in Biology and her B.A. degree in German Studies. Prior to working at MUSC, she worked in a clinical laboratory specializing in molecular and genetic testing for nearly 4 years, specializing in qPCR, pharmacogenetics, and next-gen and Sanger sequencing. In the Center for Cellular Therapy, she performs cell culturing with mesenchymal stem cells, CAR-T cell manufacturing, peripheral blood mononuclear cell isolation, islet cell isolation, ELISA, and flow cytometry.

Hannah Alexander, M.S.
Research Specialist II

 Hannah Alexander, M.S.

earned her Master of Science in Biology from Western Carolina University, where she studied immune responses to arboviral disease vectors. Her background includes ELISA development, Western blotting, PCR, cell culture, and human subjects’ research. At CCT, she supports cellular therapy development by contributing to projects involving CAR-T cells, mesenchymal stem cells, and islet isolation.

Ronald Smithwick, M.S.

Research Specialist II

He obtained his B.S. degree in Microbiology from Clemson University and his Master’s in Biomedical Science from the University of South Carolina School of Medicine.  He has a background in AAV (adeno-associated virus) vector production from grad school and industry.  He also has experience with antiviral compound testing and Next Generation Chromatography in academia.  He assists the Centers for Cellular Therapy with molecular biology quality testing, GMP documentation and assists the team during clean room CAR-T Trials.