MD
Lineberger Professor of Cancer Research
Director, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center
Director, UNC Cancer Care
UNC-Chapel Hill
Cancer Cell Biology, Breast Cancer
Area of Interest
In my role as director I oversee the basic, translational, clinical and population science research at UNC Lineberger. My laboratory studies signal transduction in normal and neoplastic cells to determine new therapeutic options in a range of cancers including breast, lung, pancreatic, and prostate, as well as leukemias and melanoma.
We have studied members of the EGF Receptor family for almost 40 years and identified several other tyrosine kinases including MerTK, a kinase that we are studying in the innate immune system as a target that leads to an immunosuppressive tumor micro-environment. To inhibit the action of MerTK, we have teamed with UNC Lineberger’s Stephen Frye, PhD, to create small molecule MerTK inhibitors that can reverse immunosuppression and enhance immunotherapy. This collaboration has resulted in a UNC start-up company, Meryx, Inc, which now has advanced a candidate to an FDA approved Phase 1 clinical trial in solid tumor patients at UNC and Emory. A trial in AML patients is anticipated next year.
Awards and Honors
- Oliver Max Gardner Award, UNC Board of Governors, 2023
News and Stories
Top UNC cancer researcher receives 2023 Oliver Max Gardner Award
H. Shelton “Shelley” Earp, MD, director of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and UNC Cancer Care, received the prestigious Oliver Max Gardner Award.
Scientific retreat underscores impact and promise of cancer center’s research
UNC Lineberger's annual scientific retreat brought together faculty, staff and trainees to learn about the latest research at the cancer center.
NCI awards Earp, Pylayeva-Gupta five-year, $2.69 million pancreatic cancer research grant
The NCI has awarded has awarded Shelley Earp, MD, and Yuliya Pylayeva-Gupta, PhD, a research project grant to investigate approaches to overcome barriers to pancreatic cancer immunotherapies.
UNC Lineberger hosts White House Chief Science & Technology Advisor
The White House Chief Science and Technology Advisor Arati Prabhakar, MS, PhD, visited Chapel Hill to discuss the fight against cancer at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center.
