The Immunology Podcast

Ep. 111: “Synthetic Immunology” Featuring Dr. Daniel Goodman

Aug 12, 2025
Guest
Daniel Goodman
Dr. Daniel Goodman, an Assistant Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, discusses innovative techniques in immune cell engineering. He highlights the promise of CAR T therapies and how new technologies are revolutionizing treatment methods. The conversation delves into the impact of respiratory viruses on dormant cancer cells, specifically in breast cancer, and innovative approaches to HIV immunization in infants. Additionally, he touches on dietary fats' roles in immunity and groundbreaking advancements in T-cell biology and stem cell technologies.
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ANECDOTE

From Bacterial Genomics To T-Cell Engineering

  • Goodman transitioned from computational bacterial genomics to T-cell engineering after PhD and postdoc work.
  • He applied pooled, high-throughput methods from E. coli to develop large-scale screens in primary T cells.
INSIGHT

Scale Enables Sequence-to-Phenotype Engineering

  • High-throughput DNA synthesis and pooled screens let you map sequence-to-phenotype landscapes in T cells.
  • Goodman aims to apply these tools to design better therapeutic receptors and genetic programs for immune cells.
INSIGHT

Targeted Libraries Outperform Random Mutation

  • Targeted, computer-designed libraries beat unguided random mutagenesis for engineering complex receptors.
  • Goodman frames a trade-off: broader targets reduce resolution, while focused libraries enable deeper sequence-function mapping.
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