Dr. Azad is a Professor of Oncology and a member of the Gastrointestinal Oncology Program within the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center (SKCCC). She completed her fellowship in Medical Oncology at the National Cancer Institute and became a member of our faculty in July 2008. Since joining the faculty of the SKCCC at Johns Hopkins, Dr. Azad is the PI of numerous early phase clinical trials in solid tumors and gastrointestinal cancers. Dr. Azad is a clinically active medical oncologist and is the co-leader of the NCI funded UM1 Developmental Therapeutics clinical research program at the SKCCC. She is a member of both the Epigenetics and Colon Cancer Stand Up 2 Cancer Dream Teams, serving as a Principal on the latter. She has been a member of the NCI Colon Cancer Task Force, the Advisory Board of the Biden Cancer Initiative, and the Executive Board of The Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation, among others.

Dr. Azad’s work is dedicated to translational research in drug development that will form the foundation of future clinical trials. Her research focuses on epigenetic and immunological alterations in cancer cells and their tumor microenvironment. Dr. Azad is currently investigating drugs that work through epigenetic mechanisms as well as the intersection of these agents with immunotherapy and vaccine based approaches. These preclinical studies are designed to move directly into early phase clinical trials, with strong laboratory correlates that will be used to further hone the therapeutic regimens, as a quintessential example of bench-to-bedside medicine.