Shirin Kalyan PhD

Dr. Shirin Kalyan is a translational immunologist. She earned her PhD in Experimental Medicine investigating the pivotal immune mediators of inflammation in toxic shock syndrome. Dr. Kalyan first conducted her post-doctoral training under the supervision of Dr. Jerilynn Prior in clinical endocrinology where she moved forward pivotal studies investigating the complex relationships connecting ovarian hormones, stress, inflammation, and sex-specific health outcomes. Dr. Kalyan was subsequently awarded a fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany where she advanced understanding of how to optimize the function of the innate immune system for immunotherapy and showed how certain drugs commonly used to treat chronic and degenerative diseases adversely impact immune integrity.

Dr. Kalyan’s primary interest and expertise are in improving the efficacy and safety of therapies targeting immune dysfunction, particularly in the context of chronic inflammatory disorders and cancer and determining how to best harness the ability of the innate immune system to support recovery from disease. In addition to her full-time role as Vice-President of Scientific Innovation at a Canadian clinical-stage biotechnology company, Dr. Kalyan is an Adjunct Professor in Medicine, Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism at the University of British Columbia.