Seyedeh Nafiseh Hassani is a faculty member in the Department of Stem Cells and Developmental Biology at the Royan Institute. She earned her undergraduate degree in Cellular and Molecular Biology from the University of Tehran in 2002, followed by a master’s degree in the same field from Khatam University in 2006. Her M.Sc. thesis was conducted under the supervision of Prof. Rafati at the Pasteur Institute, and she graduated in 2005. Hassani joined the Royan Institute in 2008 and completed her Ph.D. in Developmental Biology in 2013 under the supervision of Prof. Baharvand. She currently serves as the head of the Department of Stem Cells and Developmental Biology. Her professional expertise primarily encompasses manipulation of signaling pathways in mouse and human pluripotent stem cells, differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into hematopoietic stem cells, and the establishment of cell banks under GMP standards. Additionally, her team has engaged in large-scale production of human cells using fully automated bioreactors. Her research has culminated in over 50 publications in peer-reviewed international journals. In 2010, she was recognized as the leading researcher at the Royan Institute for her innovation in generating 150 mouse embryonic stem cell lines. In 2014, she received the Fifteenth Royan International Research Award for her work titled “The Augmented BMP Pluripotency Pathway via TGF-β Suppression Maintains the Ground State of Embryonic Stem Cell Self-Renewal.” Furthermore, her publication was selected as one of the top articles at the Second National Festival of the Council for Stem Cell Science and Technologies in 2015. Hassani has lectured at numerous international conferences and teaches various courses—including cellular transduction, cell biology, stem cells, and developmental biology—to undergraduate and Ph.D. students at the Royan Institute and the University of Science and Culture. She held the position of Production Manager at Royan Ati Tech Pharmed, specializing in cell therapy and tissue-engineered medicinal products, from 2019 to 2024. Currently, she serves as the Production Manager for Gene Therapy Medicinal Products (GTMP). Her main research group, Royan Gene and Cell-Based Immunotherapy (GIT), focuses on developing anti-CD19 and anti-BCMA CAR T-cell therapy for the treatment of B-cell disorders such as Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (DLBCL), multiple myeloma (MM) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). She also concentrates on the scale-up culture of human mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) derived from various sources, such as bone marrow and Wharton's jelly of umbilical cords, utilizing fully automated bioreactors. Additionally, the large-scale derivation and characterization of MSC-derived extracellular vesicles (MSC-EVs) for therapeutic applications are among the priorities of her specialized team.