Paul M. Armistead

Paul M. Armistead is a Professor of Medicine at the University of North Carolina (UNC) School of Medicine. He serves as the Associate Chief of Hematology for Basic and Translational Research, Medical Director of the Advanced Cellular Therapeutics Facility, and Director of the Bone Marrow Transplant Program at UNC-Chapel Hill. His clinical and research expertise centers on hematologic malignancies, with a focus on acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and CD30+ lymphoma.

• University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (BS, MD, PhD)
• Brigham and Women’s Hospital (Residency)
• M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (Fellowship)

His research laboratory pioneers cancer antigen discovery and immunotherapeutic development, including cellular therapies and vaccines. Notable contributions include identifying minor histocompatibility antigens (mHAgs) like T4A from TRIM42, which show potential for graft-versus-leukemia therapies without significant graft-versus-host disease risks. Collaborations span UNC Department of Chemistry and UNC RNA Discovery Center.

Scientific awards include the Mitchiko Kuno Research Award, Sarah Kenan Merit Scholar, and Morehead Scholar. His work has been published in journals like Nature Biotechnology, Lancet Haematology, and Blood Advances, with recent studies on CAR-T therapy, tumor microbiome modulation, and immune response assays using micropallet technology.

• Notable publications: Anti-CD30 CAR T cells (2024), Killing tumor-associated bacteria (2024), and Alternative tumour-specific antigens (2019)
• Current projects: Expanding mHAg discovery in leukemia stem cells, developing T4A cytotoxicity assays, and exploring HPLC/MS antigen confirmation