Natasha Sheybani, PhD
Natasha D. Sheybani, PhD, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering at the University of Virginia (UVA) and research director of the UVA Focused Ultrasound Cancer Immunotherapy Center, has received an Era of Hope Scholar Award from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) Breast Cancer Research Program (BCRP). Sheybani is her institution’s first recipient of this award and the only Era of Hope Scholar being named nationwide for fiscal year 2024.
According to the Department of the Army, this prestigious award is given to “exceptionally talented scientists who have shown that they are the ‘best and brightest’ in their field(s) through extraordinary creativity, vision, innovation, and productivity. They should have demonstrated experience in forming effective partnerships and collaborations and must exhibit strong potential for future leadership in breast cancer research.”
The $5.5 million grant will catalyze the Sheybani Lab’s development of focused ultrasound technology solutions to improve the safety, effectiveness, and precision of immunotherapy drugs in patients with breast cancer.
Beyond advancing cancer immunotherapy research, this funding will also be used to support a new infrastructure for bringing cancer survivors, caregivers, and patient advocates together with cancer clinicians, researchers, and trainees to hold critical conversations on the topics of cancer research, clinical care, and survivorship. This patient-centered aspect of the project will be accomplished in collaboration with UVA’s NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center.
“We are so grateful for the support of this transformative mechanism. This investment will catalyze our efforts to fortify focused ultrasound technology as a mainstay in the treatment of primary breast tumors and breast cancers that have spread to the brain,” said Dr. Sheybani. “This award is a tremendous vote of confidence in our bold vision for focused ultrasound immuno-oncology here at UVA and beyond, and it reinforces our lab’s commitment to advancing this field.”
“Having served on the parent committee of the DOD BCRP for the last two years, I can say unequivocally that the Era of Hope Award is one of the most prestigious of all of the awards in the Program’s portfolio,” said Amy Bouton, PhD, Harrison Distinguished Teaching Professor Emerita of Microbiology, Immunology and Cancer and inaugural Associate Director (2014-2023) for Education and Training in the Cancer Center at UVA. “In receiving this award, Dr. Sheybani has not only solidified her position as a rising star in the breast cancer research field, but she also brings significant distinction to UVA and the Comprehensive Cancer Center.”
This award is follow-on funding from prior Focus Ultrasound Foundation-supported research and serves to further strengthen the impactful translational work underway at UVA’s Focused Ultrasound Cancer Immunotherapy Center.
Read the press release in the UVA Health newsroom.
Filed Under: Research