# John Lu

> Shi-Jiang (John) Lu is a stem cell scientist and the founder, President and CEO of HebeCell Corp, a Natick, Massachusetts biotech building off-the-shelf cancer-killing immune cells from pluripotent stem cells. He spent two decades in regenerative medicine, was a top-ranked inventor in the global stem cell patent landscape, and led research at Advanced Cell Technology before that company was absorbed by Astellas. At HebeCell he pioneered a 3D, feeder-free bioreactor process for growing iPSC-derived natural killer (NK) and CAR-NK cells at industrial scale - aiming to make potent immune therapies as standardized and reproducible as a manufactured product.

- **Role:** Founder, President and CEO at HebeCell Corp
- **Organizations:** HebeCell Corp, Advanced Cell Technology / Ocata Therapeutics (former), Astellas (via acquisition, former)
- **Nationality:** United States
- **Education:** BS in Biochemistry, Wuhan University, MSc in Oncology / Pathophysiology, Peking Union Medical College, MPH in Molecular Toxicology / Environmental Sciences, Columbia University, PhD in Molecular Cancer Biology / Oncology, University of Toronto
- **Known for:** Founded HebeCell Corp (2016) and developed a patented method to produce allogeneic NK cells indefinitely from pluripotent stem cells., Invented the 3D-iPSC, feeder-free, single-use-bioreactor platform for industrial-scale iPSC-CAR-NK cell manufacturing (ProtoNK)., Inventor of 20+ patents in the stem cell field.

## Career timeline

- **pre-2016** — Senior Director of Research at Advanced Cell Technology / Ocata Therapeutics, conducting translational research with hESC and iPSC.
- **2014** — Ranked No. 7 in patent applications and No. 5 in citations in the global stem cell patent landscape (Nature Biotechnology).
- **2016** — Advanced Cell Technology / Ocata Therapeutics acquired by Astellas; John founds HebeCell in the Boston area the same year.
- **2021** — Jacobio Pharmaceuticals makes a strategic investment in HebeCell to advance iPSC-NK cell therapy; interviewed by IMAPAC on Asia's cell and gene therapy industry.
- **2023** — HebeCell announces collaborations with Logomix (gene-edited NK cells) and Proteintech (nanobody iPSC-NK cells).

## Achievements

- Founded HebeCell Corp (2016) and developed a patented method to produce allogeneic NK cells indefinitely from pluripotent stem cells.
- Invented the 3D-iPSC, feeder-free, single-use-bioreactor platform for industrial-scale iPSC-CAR-NK cell manufacturing (ProtoNK).
- Inventor of 20+ patents in the stem cell field.
- Ranked No. 7 in patent applications and No. 5 in citations in the global stem cell patent landscape (Nature Biotechnology, 2014).
- Led research at Advanced Cell Technology / Ocata Therapeutics, later acquired by Astellas.
- Raised a $53M Series A round; HebeCell total funding reported at ~$63M.
- Co-author of peer-reviewed work on CAR-NK cells from engineered pluripotent stem cells as off-the-shelf therapeutics.

## Latest updates

- **2023-08** — HebeCell announced a collaboration with Logomix to develop next-generation genomically engineered PSC-NK cells.
- **2023** — HebeCell announced a collaboration with Proteintech on nanobody iPSC-derived natural killer cells.
- **2021-08** — Jacobio Pharmaceuticals made a strategic investment in HebeCell; John Lu interviewed by IMAPAC.

## Links

- Website: https://hebecellcorp.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/john-lu-799583b5

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/john-lu
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-06-11