Dr. Claudia A. Penafuerte Diaz, PhD, is the Co-Founder and CEO of Cura, has over 25 years of expertise in immunology, oncology, and infectious diseases. She earned her Ph.D. in Experimental Medicine from McGill University, where her research focused on enhancing the immune response against cancer progression, contributing to the foundational science of Cura Therapeutics. While at the Goodman Cancer Research Centre, she developed an innovative method to enhance dendritic cell maturation by modulating protein tyrosine phosphatases, leading to the creation of ImmunyrTM technology, which gained approval for clinical trials in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. Following her postdoctoral research, Dr. Penafuerte served as a Research Officer at the National Research Council of Canada, spearheading projects to identify immuno-oncology targets for drug development. Her numerous accolades include grants, fellowships, and awards such as the US Army grant, CIHR fellowship, and the 1st place J&J QuickFire Challenge Innovation Award (Therapeutic Innovation). She holds 18 patents in immunotherapy and is the first author of 10 publications in leading immuno-oncology journals.