Left: Nirali N. Shah, M.D., M.H.Sc. Top right: Benedict Anchang, Ph.D. Bottom right: Sadhana Jackson, M.D.
Three CCR researchers received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). This award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. Government to outstanding scientists and engineers who are beginning their independent research careers and who show exceptional promise for leadership in science and technology. Awardees from the classes of 2018 through 2020 received their awards in 2025.
Nirali N. Shah, M.D., M.H.Sc., Lasker Clinical Research Scholar in the Pediatric Oncology Branch (awarded 2019), was honored for her research focused on the development of targeted immunotherapy approaches to treat high-risk blood cancers, such as leukemia and lymphoma, in children, adolescents and young adults. Her clinical trials focus on exploring and improving chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell based therapies and other antibody-based therapies to target surface proteins found on leukemia cells to improve outcomes for patients with blood cancers that do not respond to chemotherapy. The research aims to reduce the toxicities and late effects of these therapies.
Benedict Anchang, Ph.D., Adjunct Investigator in the Cancer Data Science Laboratory (awarded 2020), was recognized for his work in uncovering how receptors inside and outside cells are affected by drugs, endocrine disruptors, viruses and environmental chemicals/agents. His research group has a desired goal of improving personalized precision medicine.
Sadhana Jackson, M.D., Adjunct Investigator in the Pediatric Oncology Branch (awarded 2020) was awarded for her clinical and laboratory studies that focus on the role of the blood-brain barrier in aggressive brain cancers in both children and young adults. Her work aims to understand the relationship between how drugs enter the brain and how patients respond to treatment.
