Renowned pediatric oncologist at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Dr. Nirali N. Shah, has been appointed Professor and Director of the Pediatric/Adolescent and Young Adult Cell and Gene Therapy Program at University of Maryland School of Medicine. She will also serve as Associate Director for Translational Research for the University of Maryland Marlene and Stewart Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC) .
Dr. Shah will assume her new position in September and will treat patients at the University of Maryland Golisano Children’s Hospital (UMGCH), hospital Director Steven J. Czinn, MD, and UMGCCC Executive Director Taofeek K. Owonikoko, MD, PhD, announced today.
Well known as a leading expert on blood cancers, hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, phase I clinical trials, and personalized immunotherapy for children and young adults, Dr. Shah is currently Head of the Pediatric Oncology Branch of the Hematologic Malignancies Section and Senior Investigator at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Center for Cancer Research.
In a news release July 30, the University of Maryland said Dr. Shah’s recruitment to UMGCH “exemplifies a critical goal of UMGCH to recruit and retain top pediatric talent.” Her appointment followed a landmark $50 million gift from philanthropist, entrepreneur, and civic leader Tom Golisano made in October 2025 — the largest philanthropic contribution in the history of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) and the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB).
ADVERTISEMENT
“Her efforts in developing targeted immunotherapies to treat complex, high-risk blood cancers in children, adolescents and young adults highlight the powerful connection between cutting-edge research and a deep commitment to patient-centered care,” the University said. She led the development of CD22 CAR T-cells, engineered immune cells made to target specific cancer cells.
“Her research has contributed to the current understanding of the efficacy and side effects of CAR T therapy in pediatric patients, and she is the Principal Investigator of multiple active clinical trials ranging from treatment to data analysis and retrospective studies,” the news release noted.
Dr. Shah has published more than 150 peer-reviewed research papers, many in leading journals like Nature Medicine, Blood, and the Journal of Clinical Oncology. She has an h-index of 58 and her work has been broadly cited more than 19,000 times. She earned her medical degree from the University of Illinois and has a master’s in health science degree in clinical research from Duke University. She completed residency in the Harvard Combined internal medicine and pediatrics program at Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital and fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology through the combined Johns Hopkins University-NCI program.