News India Times

www.newsindiatimes.com – that’s all you need to know Pediatric Oncologist Named Director Of Pediatric, Adolescent And Young Adult Cell And Gene Therapy Program @UMaryland R enowned 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 Pro- gram at University of Maryland School of Medicine. She will also serve as Associate Director for Translational Research for the University of Maryland Marlene and Stew- art Greenebaum Comprehensive Cancer Center (UMGCCC) . Dr. Shah will assume her new position in September and will treat patients at the University of Maryland Golisano Chil- dren’s Hospital (UMGCH), hospital Direc- tor 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 pedi- atric talent.” Her appointment followed a landmark $50 million gift from philan- thropist, 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 Univer- sity of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB). “Her efforts in developing targeted im- munotherapies to treat complex, high-risk blood cancers in children, adolescents and young adults highlight the power- ful 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 Inves- tigator 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 Oncol- ogy. 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 pedi- atrics program at Massachusetts General Hospital and Boston Children’s Hospital and fellowship in pediatric hematology/ oncology through the combined Johns Hopkins University-NCI program. By a StaffWriter Dr. Nirali N. Shah PHOTO:MEDSCHOOL.UMARYLAND.EDU N ationally recognized young scientist and inven- tor Aryash Shyam of Bethlehem, PA, is bringing his firsthand experience in AI, biotechnology, and engineering to conversations with leading researchers from NASA, MIT, Stanford, the University of Oxford, and Imperial College London, to Public Radio StationWDIY 88.1 FM. WDIY, the Lehigh Valley community’s public radio station which is a member of National Public Radio, has named Shyam host of its award-winning monthly pro- gram, Teen Scientist. His first episode airs Thursday, August 6, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. and asks a question millions of students, parents, and teachers are already debating: Is artificial intel- ligence transforming education, or simply finishing students’ homework? Before starting high school, Shyam had already de- signed a CRISPRbased diagnostic for spaceflight, built and coded an AI-powered robot that targets weeds with laser precision, and created an award-winning documen- tary about the ethics of gene editing. Shyam’s appointment, the station says, “brings an uncommon perspective to science broadcasting: a host who isn’t simply interviewing leading researchers, but is actively conducting scientific research, designing tech- nology, and competing at the national level himself.” In 2026, Genes in Space selected Shyam as one of five Junior Scientist Award recipients from 130 middle-school submissions for his proposal, “Validating a Cell-Free CRISPR Fluorescent RNA Diagnostic in Microgravity.” Aryash also designed, built, and coded GreenBeam, a computer-vision robot that targets weeds with a precision laser instead of chemical herbicide. The project earned Pennsylvania State Merit recognition in the 2025 3M Young Scientist Challenge and was featured by numerous media outlets. His other honors include the 2026 PETE&C Technol- ogy Student of the Year award, first place in the 2026 AIAA National 8th-Grade Essay Contest, and first-place math- ematics at the 2026 Lehigh Valley Science and Engineer- ing Research Fair. Beyond the lab, Aryash created Editing Humanity: A CRISPR Conundrum, a documentary examining the sci- ence and ethics of gene editing, and created a student-led STEM education channel covering artificial intelligence, coding, mathematics, and science. “Across those projects, his goal is the same: make com- plex ideas understandable, useful, and open to young people,” the station says. “Young people are often told that science is something we will get to do someday,” says Shyam. “Teen Scientist begins with the opposite idea: we can ask serious ques- tions, build real solutions, and contribute now. I want lis- teners to hear the uncertainty, creativity, and persistence behind discovery, not just the finished answer, and to feel that science is a place where they belong.” Some of Shyam’s big questions to leading scientists are – Can AI help students learn, or just help them finish assignments?What invisible life travels with astronauts? Will computers change mathematical proof? Can the design of a soccer ball alter aWorld Cup match? Are we more than our sleep scores and step counts? Could a rock from another star be drifting through our solar system right now? Teen Scientist turns questions like these into fast- moving, 30-minute conversations that make frontier research clear without stripping away its complexity or wonder, the press release says. Featured guests include Dr. Justin Reich, director of the MIT Teaching Systems Lab and associate professor at MIT; Dr. SarahWallace, a microbiologist at NASA’s John- son Space Center; Dr. Victor R. Lee, Khosla Family Profes- sor at Stanford Graduate School of Education; Professor Kevin Buzzard, professor of pure mathematics at Imperial College London; Dr. John Eric Goff, professor of physics at Purdue University; and Professor Chris Lintott, profes- sor of astrophysics at the University of Oxford. WDIY Executive Director Margaret McConnell, calls Shyam “extraordinary” and adds, “what excites us most is his ability to make science approachable and remind young people that they don’t have to wait until adulthood to make meaningful contributions.” PHOTO:@ARYASHSHYAM.COM Aryash Shyam From CRISPR In Space To Public Radio: Indian American Ninth-Grader Aryash Shyam Named Host Of WDIY’s Teen Scientist By a StaffWriter Community News India Times (August 8, 2026 - August 14, 2026) August 14, 2026 7