On May 1, 2025, Professor Beth Shaz, MD, MBA, was awarded a 2025 Process Development Grant from the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB). The grant will support her project, "Novel Cord Blood-Derived Immunotherapy for Solid Tumors."
Shaz will develop a manufacturing process for an experimental cancer treatment made from umbilical cord blood. The treatment will use a special type of immune cell, called gamma delta CAR T cells, to target non-small cell lung cancer. These cells are being developed in partnership with Scott Antonia, MD, PhD, director of the Duke Cancer Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy, and José Ramón Conejo-Garcia, MD, PhD, professor of immunology and integrative immunobiology, who created this innovative therapy. What sets this potentially groundbreaking therapy apart is the fact that it is "off-the-shelf"—meaning it can be prepared in advance and used for many patients, rather than being custom-made for each one. This could lead to a new generation of cancer treatments that are more affordable, accessible to patients, and easier to use.
The AABB Foundation Process Development Grant provides funding to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of blood- and biotherapy-related processes and operations in donor and patient care settings. It supports improvements to business operations through the development, implementation, and outcomes analysis of innovative processes, techniques, or technologies. Learn more and see other awardees here.
In addition to serving as chief of Clinical Pathology, Shaz is a professor of pathology and deputy director of the Marcus Center for Cellular Cures at Duke University. She’s a member of the Duke Cancer Institute and the Margolis Institute for Health Policy, past president of the Association for the Advancement of Blood & Biotherapies (AABB) Board of Directors, and a scientific member of Biomedical Excellence for Safer Transfusion (BEST Collaborative).