Professor of Child Health and Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, School of Medicine
Associate Director, Immunomodulation and Regenerative Medicine Program, Ellis Fischel Cancer Center

NextGen Focus Area: Cancer and Immunology (Immunomodulation, Type 1 Diabetes and Transplantation)

The primary focus of Haval Shirwan’s translational research program is to develop safe and practical approaches to modulate the immune system for the treatment of immune-based disorders. He co-pioneered with his colleague Esma S. Yolcu a proprietary platform known as ProtEx™ that allows for the generation of novel recombinant immune ligands and their positional display on biological surfaces. This practical and safe alternative to gene therapy for localized immunomodulation has applications in transplantation, autoimmunity, cancer and infections. Dr. Shirwan is an inventor on 25 issued and eight pending patents and founder/co-founder of three biotech startups.

Precision Health Impact:

• Using precision medicine to identify immune pathways with druggable targets for the prevention and treatment of cancer, Type 1 diabetes and transplant rejection. 
• Generating novel biologics for druggable immune pathways and employing different vehicles, such as live bacteria and nanoparticles, for their targeted delivery to ensure efficacy and safety. 

Publications:

• Barsoumian HB, Batra L, Shrestha P, Bowen WS, Zhao H, Egilmez NK, et al. A Novel Form of 4-1BBL Prevents Cancer Development via Nonspecific Activation of CD4+ T and Natural Killer Cells. Cancer Res. 2019 Feb 15;79(4):783–94.
• Turan A, Zhang L, Tarique M, Ulker V, Arguc FN, Badal D, et al. Engineering pancreatic islets with a novel form of thrombomodulin protein to overcome early graft loss triggered by instant blood-mediated inflammatory reaction. Am J Transplant. 2023 May;23(5):619–28.
• Lei J, Coronel MM, Yolcu ES, Deng H, Grimany-Nuno O, Hunckler MD, et al. FasL microgels induce immune acceptance of islet allografts in nonhuman primates. Sci Adv. 2022 May 13;8(19):eabm9881.
• Coronel MM, Martin KE, Hunckler MD, Barber G, O’Neill EB, Medina JD, et al. Immunotherapy via PD-L1-presenting biomaterials leads to long-term islet graft survival. Sci Adv. 2020 Aug;6(35):eaba5573.
• Headen DM, Woodward KB, Coronel MM, Shrestha P, Weaver JD, Zhao H, et al. Local immunomodulation Fas ligand-engineered biomaterials achieves allogeneic islet graft acceptance. Nat Mater. 2018 Aug;17(8):732–9.

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Email: haval.shirwan@health.missouri.edu
Department website: https://medicine.missouri.edu/faculty/haval-shirwan-phd