Shaikh Receives ACS Institutional Research Award

Hira Shaikh, MBBS, Clinical Assistant Professor of Hematology, Oncology, and Blood and Marrow Transplantation (HOBMT), has received a 2026 American Cancer Society Institutional Research Grant. The one-year, $40,000 pilot grant will fund Shaikh’s current project, titled “Bone Marrow-Sparing Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) Response Assessment in Multiple Myeloma.”

The current standard for monitoring multiple myeloma response is recurring bone marrow biopsies, which are invasive, painful, and often anxiety-provoking for patients. In this study, Shaikh and her team will investigate whether mass spectrometry, a highly sensitive blood-based biomarker test, can serve as a reliable and less invasive monitoring tool. On top of improving patient comfort, Shaikh hypothesizes that mass spectrometry can offer more rigorous testing—noting that it is 1000x more sensitive than standard blood tests.

“Ultimately, this pilot study will generate the data needed to power a multicenter trial that could shift the standard of care toward less invasive, personalized treatment de-escalation strategies,” she said.

Shaikh says that her mentors’ guidance was “instrumental in shaping this study design.” She thanks Tanya Wildes, MD, MSCI, an associate professor in hematology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and Attaya Savannasankha, MD, a Harry and Edith Gladstein Professor of Cancer Research at Indiana University School of Medicine. Shaikh also thanks her colleague here at UI Health Care—Christopher Strouse, MD, a clinical assistant professor in HOBMT—”for his consistent support and valuable feedback.”