AILA
BIOTECH
Aiming to transform the clinical
treatment of neuroinflammatory
conditions for the improvement of
patients globally.
Aila Biotech harnesses a patented gene delivery technology to drive the production of immune-regulating biologics at the site of disease.
Through the use of a delivery system allowing exquisite spatial and temporal control over biologic expression, Aila Biotech can prevent neuroinflammatory damage and pathology progression.
OUR TECHNOLOGY
CONTROLLING BIOLOGICAL DELIVERY
ABOUT US
Dr James Dooley
PhD, CEO
Dr James Dooley is CEO and co-founder of Aila Biotech. Dr Dooley worked in emergency clinical care prior to starting in medical research at the University of Washington, USA. Dr Dooley specialised in the T cell and regulatory T cell development and function. Dr Dooley later specialised in respiratory immunology at the University of Alberta, Canada. Together with Prof Adrian Liston, Dr Dooley ran the Translational Immunology at the VIB and University of Leuven, Belgium, until moving the laboratory to Cambridge.
Dr Ed Needham
MBBS MRCP PGCMedE PhD,
Medical Director
Dr Ed Needham will enter Aila Biotech as Medical Director. Dr Needham is an MD PhD specialised in neuroimmunology and neurocritical care. Dr Needham is a consultant in Neurology and Neurocritical Care at Addenbrookes Hospital, and the Clinical Lead for Neuroimmunology. In addition to his clinical duties treating patients with traumatic brain injuries, Dr Needham has led research into the role of the adaptive immune system in neurotrauma (Needham et al, 2021 Journal of Immunology) and the neurological features of COVID (Needham et al, 2020 Journal of Neurology). Dr Needham is experienced in the design and implementation of clinical trials in the neurotrauma space.
Prof Adrian Liston
BSc (Hons) GCertHE MPH PhD FMedSci FRSB, CSO
Prof Adrian Liston is CSO and founder of Aila Biotech. Prof Liston received his BSc(Hons) in biomedical sciences from Adelaide University, followed by a PhD in immunogenetics at the Australian National University studying T cell tolerance. After his doctoral studies, Prof Liston worked on regulatory T cell biology at the University of Washington, prior to starting up his independent research program together with Dr James Dooley at the VIB and University of Leuven, in Belgium.
Dr Matthew Holt
BSc(Hons) PhD,
Co-Founder
Dr. Matthew Holt is Co-Founder of Aila Biotech. Dr. Holt received his B.Sc. (Hons) in Applied Biochemistry from the University of Liverpool, followed by doctoral studies on the physiology of synaptic vesicle supply and neurotransmission at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology. After his Ph.D., Dr. Holt worked on aspects of synaptic vesicle structure and function at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, Germany. Dr. Holt is now the ERANET Chair for Neurobiology in Portugal, based at the Instituto de Investigação e Inovação em Saúde (i3S) in Porto, where he runs the Synapse Biology group, investigating aspects of astrocyte-neuron interactions at inhibitory synapses.
Dr Jo Jones
FRCP PhD, Clinical Advisor – Neuroimmunology
Dr Jo Jones is an Associate Professor at the University of Cambridge and an Honorary Consultant Neurologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, with clinical and research expertise in multiple sclerosis (MS). She leads a translational neuroimmunology lab focused on understanding immune dysregulation in MS and advancing novel therapeutic strategies.
Dr Jones has made significant contributions to the field, including uncovering mechanisms of immune reconstitution-associated autoimmunity following Lemtrada treatment and leading pivotal single-cell studies that reveal age- and tissue-specific immune heterogeneity.