Michel Sadelain

Michel Sadelain invented the second-generation chimeric antigen receptor incorporating co-stimulatory signaling domains at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the fundamental design innovation that transformed CARs from laboratory curiosities into potent cancer-killing molecules capable of sustained T cell activation and proliferation. His foundational work on CD28 and 4-1BB co-stimulatory domain engineering established the two main CAR architectures used in all approved CAR-T products. He continues to pioneer next-generation CAR designs and genome editing approaches to create more effective and safer engineered T cells.