Marco Ruella, MD
Biographical sketch
Adjunct Full Professor, Department of Biotechnologies and Health Sciences
Molecular Biotechnology Center (MBC), Università degli Studi di Torino
Dr. Marco Ruella is a physician-scientist internationally recognized for his contributions to cellular immunotherapy, with a particular focus on chimeric antigen receptor T-cell (CAR T) therapies for lymphoid malignancies. In 2025, he joined the Università degli Studi di Torino as Adjunct Full Professor within the Department of Biotechnologies and Health Sciences, strengthening the scientific bridge between MBC Torino and the University of Pennsylvania, where he is a Tenured Associate Professor of Medicine and Scientific Director of the Lymphoma Program.
His research program centers on understanding and overcoming mechanisms of resistance to CAR T therapies, developing next-generation engineered T-cell approaches, and translating novel therapies from concept to early-phase clinical trials. Dr. Ruella has authored over 130 peer-reviewed publications in journals including NEJM, Nature Medicine, Science Immunology, Cancer Cell, Cell, Cancer Discovery, and Blood, and holds multiple patents in cancer immunotherapy.
Biography
Dr. Ruella obtained his MD with High Honors from the Università di Torino and completed clinical training in hematology at the San Giovanni Battista and Umberto I Hospitals in Torino. After early faculty and clinical roles in Italy, he moved to the University of Pennsylvania, where he completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Center for Cellular Immunotherapies and subsequently joined the faculty. Dr. Ruella has held several leadership position in international societies, including the Chair of the Scientific Committee on Transplantation Biology & Cellular Therapies
of the American Society of Hematology, the inaugural Chair of the SITC Cell Therapy Committee, and a standing member of the NIH Therapeutic Immune Regulation Study Section.
Since 2024–2025, Dr. Ruella was first appointed Visiting Professor and subsequently Adjunct Full Professor at the Università di Torino, where he contributes to research development, international collaborations, and graduate training in immunotherapy and cell engineering.