University of Missouri – Columbia (MU)
Dr. Shirwan’s translational research program targets the immune system for modulation with particular focus on cancer immunoprevention and immunotherapy, transplantation, autoimmunity, and vaccinology. Shirwan co-pioneered with Dr. Esma S. Yolcu a proprietary platform technology, ProtEx™, that allows for the generation of novel recombinant immune ligands and their positional and transient display as single agents or in combination on biological surfaces as a practical and safe alternative to gene therapy for localized immunomodulation. Dr. Shirwan is also assessing various vehicles, including live bacterial vectors and biomaterials, for targeted delivery of biologics to modulate immune effector and regulatory cells for therapeutic outcomes. Three lead therapeutic candidates have shown efficacy for the prevention and treatment of type 1 diabetes and cancer in preclinical models and presently being pursued for clinical development. Dr. Shirwan’s research has continuously been funded by federal and nonfederal funding agencies.