Meet Dr. Maxime Jeljeli, MD, PhD, Medical Director, Medpace
Medpace is pleased to announce the addition of a new immunology expert, Dr. Maxime Jeljeli, to the medical leadership team.
Dr. Jeljeli is a physician and scientist with over 13 years of combined clinical, academic, and pharmaceutical research experience in translational immunology. He has extensive expertise in the pathogenesis of immune-mediated diseases, including chronic inflammatory disorders, allergy, autoimmunity, alloimmunity, and onco-immunology. He also has over 7 years of experience in anti-infectious and vaccine immune responses.
With his background in academic research and over 50 peer-reviewed publications, Dr. Jeljeli brings extensive knowledge in the clinical evaluation of advanced immunomodulatory therapeutic products, including immune cell reprograming, gene-modifying strategies, and CAR T-cell biology. Dr. Jeljeli has lived in both France and the United States and is fluent in French, Arabic, and English, enabling effective communication across global teams and enhancing the execution of global studies.
In this brief interview, we explore Dr. Jeljeli’s background, international experience, and the expertise he brings to Medpace.
Tell us about your background. How does your prior experience translate to your work at Medpace?
I am an immunologist (MD, PhD) specializing in how immune dysregulation drives disease and how these mechanisms can be therapeutically targeted. My academic background includes faculty-level work in Paris on chronic infections, vaccine responses, and fibro-inflammatory diseases; a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard Medical School in Boston focused on rheumatic disorders; and leadership as a Principal Investigator (PI) at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles, where I led programs in immune tolerance, CAR T-cells, and gene-modifying strategies. This background directly informs my work at Medpace, where deep understanding of disease biology and linking it to study design, patient selection, endpoints, and safety is critical to clinical trial success.
My experience spans a broad spectrum of immune-mediated and infectious diseases. This includes the diagnosis and management of tuberculosis infection and viral reactivations during immune recovery following allogeneic stem cell transplantation, as well as the assessment of anti-pneumococcal vaccine responses in immunocompromised patients. I also focused on identifying immune failure in control chronic viral infections—particularly hepatitis B and C, CMV, and EBV—and on managing the resulting complications such as cryoglobulinemia and other disorders driven by inappropriate or persistent immune activation. In parallel, I have been deeply involved in systemic autoimmune, inflammatory, and allergic diseases, including systemic sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, dermatomyositis, overlap syndromes, graft-versus-host disease, and types I-IV hypersensitivity reactions such as allergic asthma, atopic dermatitis, contact dermatitis, hypersensitivity vasculitis, and anaphylaxis. I have developed recognized expertise in the immunology of endometriosis, frequently speaking on emerging immune mechanisms and therapeutic pipelines in this field.
More recently, in Los Angeles, I acquired substantial expertise in CAR T-cell biology and gene-modifying strategies as therapeutic approaches to immunomodulate alloimmune responses in vascularized composite and solid organ allotransplantation, to target autoimmunity such as type 1 diabetes, and to support regenerative medicine applications, including cell therapies for ischemic vasculopathies.
How does your multilingual background and international experience help effectively navigate cultural and regulatory requirements across global clinical development programs?
As a Medical Director at Medpace, being fluent in French, Arabic, and English significantly enhances communication across global clinical development teams. This multilingual capacity facilitates clearer collaboration with investigators, Sponsors, and regulatory stakeholders, reducing misunderstandings and improving trial efficiency. Having lived in both France and the United States, I have a strong cross-cultural perspective that supports alignment with diverse healthcare systems and regulatory environments. Together, this linguistic and international experience strengthens global study execution.
What drew you to Medpace? What sets Medpace apart from other global CROs?
Medpace is a science-driven, physician-led CRO recognized for its strong teamwork and expertise across medical, scientific, regulatory, and operational functions. Its ability to guide global studies from early development through late-phase trials, supported by in-house medical leadership, enables smarter trial design and proactive risk mitigation. This integrated approach is particularly valuable in areas where biology is complex. My experience in understanding how the immune system drives disease aligns well with this approach. Having worked in academic research, I appreciate environments where clinical strategy is guided by a clear understanding of disease biology, not just operations. Medpace offers this kind of collaborative environment, making it an exciting opportunity to contribute my expertise and remain highly engaged and motivated to deliver real medical impact.
What motivates you and your interest in clinical research – specifically in immunology?
Immunology is one of the most active and fast-moving areas of medical research, with many recent discoveries translating swiftly into innovative new treatments. Breakthroughs such as biologic drugs, cell therapies, and gene-based approaches are supported by advances in our understanding of the immune system. It is also exciting and motivating to see how immune system modulation now extends well beyond traditional immune-mediated diseases, reaching into fields such as neurology, cardiology, respiratory medicine, endocrinology, and even psychiatry, which makes immunology expertise essential for successful clinical trials.
You bring a unique perspective from your experience as a PI in translational immunology. Can you share some key considerations when conducting immunology clinical trials?
From my experience as a PI in translational immunology, one of the most important aspects of running immunology clinical trials is clearly understanding how the drug works and how it affects the immune system in the disease being studied. This requires staying up to date with the latest research and carefully reviewing preclinical data to ensure the approach is scientifically sound. Adherence to Good Clinical Practice is essential, especially for ensuring patient safety, given the complex effects of immune-targeting drugs. It is also important to select the right patients, monitor immune-related side effects closely, and use simple biological markers to assess whether the treatment is achieving the intended effect.
From a clinical development standpoint, what new innovations are you most excited about?
I’m excited about innovations that precisely modulate the immune system, including cell therapies, gene-modifying approaches, and targeted small molecules that reprogram immune cells or adjust their metabolism. These strategies can improve treatment of autoimmune and inflammatory diseases, enhance vaccine responses, and show potential in cardiovascular and neuroinflammatory conditions. I’m also enthusiastic about leveraging biomarkers, rational combination therapies, and digital monitoring to deepen our understanding of immune responses and accelerate clinical trials.
Your CV highlights an impressive track record of publications in high-impact journals. How do you see this experience benefiting your role as a Medical Director at Medpace?
My previous academic publications demonstrate strong scientific credibility, critical thinking, and expertise to translate biological insights into informed clinical decisions, skills that can provide added value for a Medical Director role. Most of my publications have focused on investigating the pathogenesis of immune-mediated disorders and interpreting complex biological and clinical data. This experience helps translate knowledge into successful clinical trial design and, more importantly, helps guide Sponsors through early- and mid-phase development.
Leading Immunology CRO | Medpace
Achieve quality results, meet deadlines, and maximize efficiencies by partnering with a full-service CRO that excels in designing and executing clinical research across a spectrum of immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Medpace medical, operational, and regulatory expertise in immunology, inflammation, and allergy spans multiple therapeutic areas and indications, including dermatology, gastroenterology, oncology, ophthalmology, respiratory, and rheumatology. This extensive experience, coupled with cell and gene therapy expertise and a proven track record of success, ensures the ability to adapt to the unique needs of each trial and overcome complexities.