Knut Niss, Ph.D.

Dr. Niss is Chief Technology Officer at eGenesis, overseeing the organization’s use of cutting-edge technology to redefine the future of organ transplantation.

Dr. Niss is a seasoned biotechnology executive and scientist with more than 20 years of experience in molecular biology and the biotechnology industry. Most recently, he served as Chief Technology Officer at Mustang Bio Inc., where he led a team developing and manufacturing cell therapy products, including the build-out of the company’s autologous CAR-T manufacturing platform. Dr. Niss also served as Mustang’s Vice President of Operations, with a focus on the establishment of facilities to support commercial manufacturing. Prior to his tenure at Mustang, Dr. Niss held various scientific and technical leadership roles at the vanguard of innovation in cell and gene therapy. At Biogen, Dr. Niss led the Cell Therapies group, overseeing operations and supporting regulatory filings. Dr. Niss played a pivotal role in the advancement of Kymriah® (tisagenlecleucel), the first chimeric antigen receptor therapy to be approved in the US, establishing critical CMC and manufacturing capabilities and supporting cross-functional development activities. At Pfizer, Dr. Niss led global research teams supporting target identification and validation as well as preclinical, clinical development.  

Dr. Niss earned a Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from Humboldt University in Berlin, Germany, an M.S. in Biology at Georg-August University in Goettingen, Germany. He completed post-doctoral work at the Children’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.