Meet Jeff Bluestone

Jeff is one of the foundational figures in modern immunotherapy and cell-based medicine. Over a career spanning more than 40 years, his work in T-cell activation, immune tolerance, and regulatory T-cell biology has helped shape how the field understands and manipulates the immune system. He has published more than 500 papers and contributed to selective immunomodulatory approaches including abatacept for rheumatoid arthritis and teplizumab for type 1 diabetes.

As co-founder of Sonoma Biotherapeutics, Jeff has helped translate that scientific legacy into engineered regulatory T-cell therapies for autoimmune and inflammatory disease. Under his leadership, Sonoma advanced its lead Treg therapy into the clinic, built dedicated R&D and manufacturing capabilities, and established a major partnership with Regeneron to discover, develop, and commercialize Treg therapies. His influence spans academic discovery, company creation, clinical translation, and the broader effort to move cell therapy beyond oncology.

“Throughout my career, I have lived by the mantra: ‘Do kick-ass science, collaborate like hell, and make a difference.’ In this field, we’re working to change the whole paradigm of how to treat devastating autoimmune diseases.”