Priti Hegde, PhD

Priti Hegde, PhD, joined Kite in 2023 as Senior Vice President and Global Head of Kite Research.

She brings more than 20 years of experience in the biopharmaceutical industry to Kite and an impressive track record in drug discovery and development in oncology and cancer immunotherapy. Most recently, Priti served as the Chief Scientific Officer and a member of the executive team at Foundation Medicine, leading the company’s strategic research roadmap – including early-stage research, diagnostic product development and cancer genomics – shaping the vision for oncology diagnostics and patient care. Prior to Foundation Medicine, Priti spent over a decade at Genentech, where she established and led the global team accountable for translational science strategies in cancer immunotherapy. She was also responsible for both forward and reverse translation of clinical trial data to enable registration of the immunotherapy treatment, Tecentriq®, and target discovery, establishing the tumor immunity continuum framework.

Before Genentech, Priti established the genomics group at GlaxoSmithKline and served as a fellow for The Institute for Genomic Research.

Priti currently serves on the board of directors of Adaptimmune Therapeutics. She received her bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from the University of Mumbai and earned her PhD in biochemical pharmacology from SUNY Buffalo.