Reiss Reid
He/Him
I’m queer and I’m an immunologist.//
I’m queer and I’m an immunologist. From a very young age I was drawn to the field of science and was fascinated by everything from astrophysics to ecology. However, growing up I never knew of black scientists or queer scientists, let alone one that was black AND queer. Therefore, today being that black queer scientist makes me immensely proud.
For me being a scientist isn’t simply what I do but is a fundamental part of who I am. In high school I dreamed of one day being a famous scientist working on groundbreaking new medicines to meaningful impact the lives of others……and winning the noble prize (Yep, I was dreaming real big!). Today I get to spend my days leading a team that works on genetically modifying the immune system of cancer patients in the hopes of finding meaningful treatments for a disease that affects so many.
I’m currently a Senior Research Scientist at Biotech in the Bay Area. I have BSc in Biomedical Science from the University of Manchester (UK), a PhD in Cancer Immunology from Cardiff University (UK) and was a Postdoctoral Researcher in CAR-T therapy at the University of Pennsylvania (USA).