Precision BioSciences, Inc. appointed David Thomson as chief operating officer, the company said in a press release Monday.

Thomson previously served as chief development officer for the company, where he led development and approvals for Precision’s first two chimeric antigen receptor T cell therapy programs, PCAR0191 and PBCAR20A.

Targeting lymphoma and leukemia, these therapy programs genetically engineer T cells to produce synthetic receptors, or CARs, which then recognize and kill cancer cells, the company said.

“David has made a dramatic impact since joining Precision over two years ago, and I am delighted that he is taking on these new responsibilities at a critical time when we believe our pace of growth is accelerating, and our CAR T cancer immunotherapy, in vivo gene correction and food portfolios are progressing at pace,” said Matt Kane, chief executive officer and co-founder of Precision BioSciences.

Precision BioSciences develops therapies to treat human diseases and to create more productive food sources using its genome editing program, ARCUS.

Precision shares were trading at $9.79 Tuesday afternoon, up 33 cents.