From Nigeria to North America: The Scientist Pioneering New Immunotherapies for Children with Cancer
From Nigeria to North America: The Scientist Pioneering New Immunotherapies for Children with Cancer
In a quiet lab at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, in the United States, Faizah Alabi, a PhD candidate in Pharmaceutical Sciences, is working on something that could change how we treat cancer with T cell leukemias. Her work focuses on developing novel immunotherapeutic targets for this pediatric malignancy, an area she says remains vastly underserved in both research and clinical application.
“Most of the current immunotherapy breakthroughs are designed for B cell hematological malignancies, which now have a survival rate of almost 90%. However, when you look at T cell leukemias, no immunotherapy has yet been approved. In fact, the last FDA-approved treatment was in 2005, and it was chemotherapy for patients in relapsed settings.” T cell malignancies are complex and more challenging to treat because patients relapse faster from chemotherapy. When they do, they are left with no other treatment options. So, globally, there is an unmet need for better treatment modalities. Immunotherapy is revolutionizing cancer treatments, especially in adult cancers,” she explains. “But children’s immune systems are different, and so are their tumors. That’s where we come in.”
Originally from Nigeria, Faizah Alabi earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial chemistry and a master’s in pharmaceutical chemistry before relocating to North America to pursue her PhD in pharmaceutical sciences. She’s now a rising voice in immuno-oncology and has already presented her work at major global conferences, including the 2024 Annual Meeting of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC).
Her current research focuses on the modulation of the pediatric tumor microenvironment to improve immune system recognition and response. “We are investigating how to reverse immune suppression in pediatric tumors by identifying new molecular targets that can be safely exploited,” she says. “This could open the door to less toxic, more effective therapies.”
Her work is not just theoretical. It has been widely acknowledged globally and has influenced ongoing studies in both academic and biotech settings. One senior immunologist described her contributions as “a pioneering blueprint for next-generation pediatric immunotherapies.” Beyond the lab, Faizah Alabi is committed to bridging the healthcare gap between developed nations and underserved regions like sub-Saharan Africa. “My long-term goal is to make immunotherapy not just a Western innovation but a global one,” she says.
As her work gains traction, one thing is clear: the world of pediatric T cell cancer research is
starting to pay attention.
