We do translational research. Our goal is to bring new cell and gene therapies from the research lab to our patients.
We use the tools of synthetic biology, AI, robotics, and automated manufacturing platforms. When used together, these tools result in improved quality and broader access to life-saving medicines.
Dr. Jonathan Esensten is a US-trained pathologist and immunologist with a 360-degree view of the science, medicine, and business of cell and gene therapy.
Dr. Esensten directs the Advanced Biotherapy Center (ABC) at Sheba Medical Center, an academic development and manufacturing laboratory for a wide range of cell, gene, and tissue-based therapies. He is a team leader for cellular therapy product development, manufacturing, and clinical trials, leading projects with academic, major-pharma, and smaller-biotech partners.
His work includes building the GxP systems (quality assurance, quality control, and regulatory programs) that cellular therapies depend on, with hands-on experience in IND submissions and interactions with the U.S. FDA, as well as experimental drug submissions to the Israel Ministry of Health.
Before Sheba, he directed cell and gene therapy development at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) from 2016–2022 and served as medical director of the blood bank at San Francisco General Hospital. He trained in cellular immunology, clinical pathology, and transfusion medicine at UCSF, with a PhD in immunology under Jeffrey Bluestone and postdoctoral work with Wendell Lim.
Today he also serves as Medical Director of the Clinical Laboratories at Sheba and holds a research-track faculty appointment at Reichman University's Dina Recanati School of Medicine.
The lab works across the full arc of new therapy design, process development, GMP manufacturing, analytic development, and clinical trial execution.
Designing and building T-cell therapies, including CAR-T and regulatory T-cell (Treg) products, that harness synthetic biology to treat cancer, autoimmunity, and rare genetic disease. This work spans costimulation biology, non-viral genome engineering, and gene-corrected Treg therapy for inborn errors of immunity.
Advancing closed, automated, and robotic platforms that make cell and gene therapies more reproducible, scalable, and affordable, from closed bioreactors for CAR-T production to robotic clusters for fully automated manufacturing. The goal is to shorten the distance between a promising therapy and the patients who need it.
Moving therapies from bench to clinic through rigorous process development and regulatory strategy. The lab has led first-in-human cell therapy manufacturing and multiple experimental drug submissions (IND/IMPD) to the FDA and the Israel Ministry of Health, including an international collaboration to bring CAR-T therapy to South America.
Grounded in clinical practice: medical oversight of the full spectrum of laboratory and transfusion services. This includes evidence-based transfusion in trauma and critical care, convalescent plasma programs, and training the next generation of laboratory physicians.
The lab is advancing a portfolio of CAR T-cell programs, from open, actively enrolling clinical trials to candidates in late and early preclinical development.
Dr. Esensten has longstanding, hands-on expertise in the design, construction, and operation of GMP facilities for cell and gene therapy. He has directed academic GMP facilities on two continents, working with pharma, biotech, and academic partners to bring first-in-human trials from the cleanroom to the clinic, and has advised many international groups on building and operating GMP facilities of their own.
As Medical Director from 2016–2022, Dr. Esensten led UCSF's Human Islet and Cellular Transplantation Facility, an FDA-registered cGMP facility that has manufactured investigational cell therapies for over 20 years, supporting more than a dozen early-phase trials of T-cell, regulatory T-cell, and islet-cell products for academic, collaborating, and industry sponsors.
As Director, Dr. Esensten leads the ABC–Wohl GMP facility at Sheba, a modern cleanroom suite, rebuilt and expanded under his direction, that manufactures cell, gene, and tissue therapies for clinical trials with academic, pharma, and biotech partners, built and operated to international GMP standards under Israel Ministry of Health regulation.
Alongside the lab, Dr. Esensten practices and teaches clinical laboratory and transfusion medicine, and is an experienced medical educator, from residents and fellows to medical students preparing for their board exams.
As Medical Director of the Clinical Laboratories at Sheba Medical Center, Dr. Esensten provides medical oversight and advisory responsibility across the full spectrum of laboratory services. He is board certified in Clinical Pathology by the American Board of Pathology and holds Israeli Medical Specialist certification in Clinical Laboratory medicine.
A fellowship-trained transfusion medicine specialist, he previously served as Medical Director of the blood bank at San Francisco General Hospital and chaired its Transfusion Committee, setting transfusion policy across the San Francisco health system and developing new blood-based therapies. He is board certified in Blood Banking / Transfusion Medicine.
He has taught laboratory and transfusion medicine to medical students, residents, and clinical fellows, served as Associate Fellowship Director of the UCSF Cellular Therapy / Transfusion Medicine Fellowship, and established new fellowship programs at UCSF and Sheba, including the first laboratory medicine fellowship in Israel. He lectures medical students at the Dina Recanati School of Medicine.
Dr. Esensten has spent hundreds of hours tutoring medical students for the USMLE Step 1, 2, and 3 examinations, coaching future physicians on both exam content and test-taking strategy.
A selection from 28 peer-reviewed publications spanning T-cell biology, cell-therapy manufacturing, and transfusion medicine.
Dr. Esensten provides fractional and advisory support to biotech companies, bringing hands-on expertise in cell-therapy development, GMP manufacturing, and regulatory strategy.
Dr. Esensten works with organizations across the cell and gene therapy ecosystem, from manufacturing-technology companies to clinical-stage therapeutics developers. Engagements range from scientific advisory board membership to focused guidance on process development, GMP operations, and FDA / regulatory submissions.
Advisory work is conducted independently and is distinct from his academic and clinical roles at Sheba Medical Center.
Scientific Advisory Board & advisory roles include:
Robotic "physical AI" that links a facility's existing GMP instruments into a sealed, self-running system for manufacturing advanced therapies.
A unified, closed platform that combines bioreactor and centrifuge functions in a single automated device for cell and gene therapy manufacturing.
Cell therapy company developing technologies to manage patient variability and enable local production of therapies such as CAR-T.
Dina Recanati School of Medicine