Nikko Jeffreys

Background

About Nikko Jeffreys

I am a macromolecular scientist and bioengineer studying the systems biology of childhood T-cell leukemogenesis and the quantitative systems pharmacology of bispecific T-cell engagers (BiTEs) in Peter Zandstra’s lab at UBC SBME and Michael Smith Labs, with an ultimate goal to enhance T-cell and hematopoietic stem cell immunotherapies in pediatric blood cancers. I received my Ph.D. training in Engineering Sciences at Harvard SEAS in Dave Mooney's lab, where I developed biomaterials to probe and potentiate human T-cell development for 'off-the-shelf' immunotherapy and to engineer human pluripotent stem cell-derived thymic tissue. I received a B.S. in bioengineering (materials science) from UC Berkeley in 2018. I previously worked as a microfabrication process engineer at the California Institute for Quantitative Bioscience's Biomolecular Nanotechnology Core (qb3 BNC) developing microfluidic technologies for engineering cardiac microphysiological systems. As an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, I worked in Kevin Healy's lab for biomaterials and tissue engineering developing similar devices. My opportunities in higher education are a fortunate result of the California community college system in San Diego.