Nirali Shah, MD, MHSc, Receives Frank A. Oski Memorial Lectureship at ASPHO

Dr. Shah, Head of the Hematologic Malignancies Section of the Pediatric Oncology Branch at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), received the 2024 Frank A. Oski Memorial Lectureship for her accomplishments in pediatric hematologic oncology.

The lectureship is presented annually to an early- or mid-career clinical or laboratory investigator in the field of pediatric hematologic oncology “whose cutting-edge research is of the caliber of the investigations made by Dr. Oski,” according to the American Society of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology (ASPHO).

Dr. Shah’s areas of expertise include immunology and immunotherapy, rare tumors, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapies, and blood and bone marrow transplantation. Specifically, her research focuses on the development of targeted immunotherapy approaches to treating high-risk leukemia and lymphoma in children, adolescents, and young adults.

Her clinical trials explore the use of CAR T-cell therapies to target the surface proteins of leukemia cells to improve outcomes for patients who do not respond to chemotherapy. She also studies the prevention and treatment of relapsed disease following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

As the 2024 recipient of the Frank A. Oski Memorial Lectureship, Dr. Shah presented a state-of-the-art lecture at the 2024 ASPHO Conference in Seattle, Washington, April 3-6. The lecture highlighted her research, career accomplishments, and how mentorship played a role in her career trajectory.

“[Dr. Shah] is a tireless advocate for her patients, who are some of the most refractory and sickest patients in the field of pediatric hematologic malignancies,” said Dr. Shah’s nominator. “Her incessant efforts in obtaining Breakthrough Therapy designation by the US Food and Drug Administration for the CD22 CAR T-cell trial, based on the application she authored, is one of many examples of her grit and selfless dedication to her patients. There are very few who understand the clinical field of immunotherapy targeting cell surface receptors, in particular CD22, in pediatric [B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia] as well as Dr. Shah.”