Elizabeth is passionate about applying her expertise as it relates to nonviral gene therapy and immunotherapy process development and manufacturing. While at Dark Horse, she has also provided strategic support for clients working with gene-modified cell therapy and gene-editing therapy programs across many core competency areas including nonclincal and preclinical support, regulatory strategy, and market analysis. She has supported clients in various stages of development, with an emphasis on early stage programs (Phase I/II).

Prior to DHC, Dr. Figueroa began working in the cell and gene therapy field in 2012 during her Bioengineering Ph.D. thesis project at Rice University. During this time, she worked with Bellicum Pharmaceuticals to apply her novel non-viral gold nanoparticle gene therapy vector to gene-modified cell therapy applications such as CAR-T cell therapy and dendritic cell vaccines, assessing the efficacy of these therapies in vitro and in animal models.