Shima Shabani’s goal is clear: conduct research that will help the most vulnerable cancer patients survive.
As a master’s student in her home country of Iran, she learned how to use antibodies to target cancer. Fascinated by immunotherapy—using the body’s own defense system to find and destroy cancer—she knew she wanted more research experience in the field.
Now, as a PhD student at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering (UChicago PME), she is doing just that.
“I wanted to expand my hands-on experience to engineer innovative immunotherapies for patients with hard-to-treat cancers, particularly those with solid tumors,” she said. “I looked around at different universities and found that UChicago PME was focused on engineering biological systems to solve complex medical challenges.”
In particular, Shabani wanted to focus on chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-Cell therapy, where a patient’s own T cells are genetically modified to help them bind to a specific cancer cell antigen. That allows them to find and kill cancer cells that normally hide from the immune system.
While the therapy has been successful in treating blood-based cancers, it isn’t as successful in cancers with solid tumors. That’s because solid tumors are made up of many different kinds of cells that express different antigens, and the tumor microenvironment is more hostile to these therapies.
In the lab of Prof. Juan Mendoza, Shabani is working to engineer specific CARs to target these solid tumors.
“I had the opportunity to really establish a CAR T-cell therapy research program in Professor Mendoza’s lab,” Shabani said. “He has been really nice and supportive. Whenever I have a problem, I can talk freely with him, and his guidance has been invaluable in helping me navigate complex problems. The faculty here are really trying to help you become a better scientist, and being in this environment has only fueled my excitement for discovery and pushed me to explore new ideas with curiosity and purpose.”
“As a scientist, I have many ideas, but it really takes talent and dedication to make our ideas and visions come to reality,” said Mendoza. “Shima’s passion, dedication, and excellence are doing just that in hopes of our work being able to touch people’s lives in the future.”
Outside of the lab, she enjoys exploring the city and hanging out by Lake Michigan in the summer. “The lake has really good vibes,” she said. Her experience in and out of the lab has been deeply fulfilling. “UChicago has been a place where I can fully dive into meaningful research and still enjoy life outside the lab. Summers here are amazing—long evenings by the lake, music festivals, and just feeling the city come alive,” she said.
After she finishes her PhD, Shabani hopes to work in industry to continue her CAR T-cell research. “I just want to use the molecular engineering tools to develop targeted therapies for hard-to-treat solid tumors, like pancreatic cancer and lung cancer," she said. “I want the opportunity to translate lab-based discoveries into real treatments that improve patients’ lives and increase their survival.”
—Learn more about the PhD programs at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering