Esther Welkowsky

Esther Welkowsky, Senior Vice President of Clinical Development, leads the trial operations functional area, including Clinical Operations, Supply Chain, Data Management, Clinical Sample Logistics and Safety Operations. She brings 20 years of clinical research experience across large and small biotechnology companies, including cell therapy, small molecules and biologic settings.

Most recently, as Executive Director at Allogene Therapeutics, Esther was responsible for building their Clinical Operations department in support of their allogeneic CAR T portfolio of clinical trials, as well as the initial build of clinical supply chain. Prior to this, as the fourth employee at Atara Biotherapeutics, she established the Clinical Operations and later the Cell Selection Logistics department, supporting both the initial biologic trials as well as the transition to Atara’s allogeneic T-cell immunotherapy trials spanning multiple indications. Earlier, at Cougar Biotechnology and Janssen, Esther was a key contributor to the pivotal prostate cancer study that led to market approval for Zytiga®, as well as the second Phase 3 study that expanded the Zytiga® label to chemo-naïve patients. She has also contributed to research for several other drug products that have received marketing approval including Yondelis®, Avastin® and Raptiva®.

Esther holds a bachelor of science degree in Microbiology from the University of California at Santa Barbara.

In her spare time, Esther enjoys spending time with her dog, being an amateur wine aficionado and being close to the ocean as much as possible.