Shalabi Named Chief Medical Officer of Cancer Research Institute

Aiman Shalabi, PharmD, MBA, BCOP

Aiman Shalabi, PharmD, MBA, BCOP

Aiman Shalabi, PharmD, MBA, BCOP, has been appointed chief medical officer of the Cancer Research Institute (CRI), a nonprofit organization with the goal of developing lifesaving immunotherapies for all forms of cancer.

Shalabi has more than 17 years of experience developing transformative medicines, most recently as vice president and head of Immuno-Oncology Global Medical Affairs at AstraZeneca, where he served in leadership roles to develop an immunotherapy program from preclinical stage to FDA submission.

In his new role, Shalabi will provide strategic direction and integrated oversight for CRI’s cancer immunotherapy clinical trial program, the CRI Ann-Maria Kellen Clinical Accelerator. According to CRI, his appointment reflects CRI’s commitment to deliver clinical innovations and unlock cures for patients with all types of cancer.

Shalabi’s past experience also includes managing a portfolio of oncology agents at the US National Cancer Institute, Cancer Therapy Evaluation Program (CTEP), and leading the compassionate use program providing cancer patients with access to new medicines prior to regulatory approval.

“Aiman is a pioneer in clinical collaborations in combination immunotherapy research and development, and through his role at MedImmune/AstraZeneca, our first industry collaborator, he contributed significantly to the early growth of the CRI Anna-Maria Kellen Clinical Accelerator,” said Jill O’Donnell-Tormey, PhD, CEO and director of scientific affairs at the Cancer Research Institute. “We are pleased he will be joining forces with CRI as we grow our clinical enterprise with our academic and industry partners.”

Shalabi will be working with a comprehensive set of nonprofit resources that includes a global network of more than 60 leading scientists, clinical trials management capabilities, venture philanthropy funding, along with operational, reagent access, and co-funding partnerships with more than 20 nonprofit and industry organizations.

“I am delighted to work with the Cancer Research Institute and look forward to growing and accelerating research collaborations for groundbreaking precision immunotherapy combinations,” Shalabi said. “The most important inventions I have witnessed in my career resulted from collaborating with experts from academia. Having this opportunity to build on these experiences will help us achieve our common goal—finding cures for patients with cancer.”

Established in 1953, CRI is the world’s leading nonprofit organization dedicated exclusively to transforming cancer patient care by advancing scientific efforts to develop new and effective immune system-based strategies to prevent, diagnose, treat, and eventually cure all cancers. CRI has invested $336 million in support of research conducted by immunologists and tumor immunologists at the world’s leading medical centers and universities, and has contributed to many of the key scientific advances that demonstrate the potential for immunotherapy to change the face of cancer treatment.