Elizabeth J. Shpall, M.D. University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center

After receiving her undergraduate degree from Brown University in 1976, Dr. Elizabeth Shpall completed her medical degree at the University of Cincinnati, College of Medicine in 1980. She was a resident at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York for three years. From 1983 through 1985, she was a fellow in the Department of Neoplastic Diseases at Mount Sinai Medical Center, also in New York, serving as chief fellow in her final year. Before coming to MD Anderson Cancer Center in 2002, she was the director of the Cord Blood Bank at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, a program she started.

Dr. Shpall is a nationally recognized expert in stem cell transplantation. She has authored or co-authored hundreds of research abstracts, articles and editorials and is in great demand as a lecturer and visiting professor. She has been the medical director of the GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) Cell Therapy Laboratory since 2002, and the director of the Cord Blood Bank (CBB) at MD Anderson since 2004. Dr. Shpall's leadership in the area of umbilical cord blood collection, processing and storage has helped to move MD Anderson to the forefront in this new and important field. Under her watch, the CBB has collected 1,900 cord blood samples from voluntary donations since its establishment in April 2005. The CBB at MD Anderson is one of only four cord blood banks in the United States, and one of only eleven in the world, accredited by the FACT - Netcord Accreditation Program.

Dr. Shpall's influence is felt beyond the Texas Medical Center. She is the current vice-president of FACT - Netcord, having chaired their Blood Standards Committee since 1999, and has been a board member of the Foundation Accreditation of Hematopoietic Cell Therapy since 1995. She was a member of the International Association for Breast Cancer Research from 1992-2000, and has been a member of the International Society for Cellular Therapy since 1992.

Dr. Shpall is part of the new wave in cancer treatment: targeting an individual's specific cancer at the cellular level. Dr. Shpall's stem cell transplantation research covers an exciting range of applications, among them: leukemia and lymphoma treatment, solid tumor reduction, rebuilding the heart muscle, anti-tumor immunity enhancement and tissue repair. Many of her studies are designed to address the safety and efficacy of stem cell transplantation for patients.