University of California Davis
Sacramento, United States
I am Orwa Aboud MD., PhD, an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Neurology and Neurological Surgery along with an appointment at the UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center.
During a neuro-oncology rotation in my neurology residency, I was struck by the positive impact that basic and clinical research can have on enhancing cancer patients’ treatment options and quality of life. My residency and postdoctoral experiences solidified my belief that as neuro-oncologist I can make a more immediate and positive impact on my patients’ lives as a clinician-scientist. I completed my fellowship at the joint National Institutes of Health Neuro-Oncology Branch/Johns Hopkins University Neuro-Oncology Fellowship Training Program. This entailed patient care, clinical translational research, and the building of clinical trials targeting patients with primary brain tumors.
I am currently a scholar in UC Davis Paul Calabresi Clinical Oncology K12 Career Development program (2021-2024). For the K12 program, I collaborated with my mentor Dr. Oliver Fiehn (PhD. Director of the West Coast Metabolomics Center), I characterized specific changes in plasma metabolomics in patients with glioblastoma during their treatment and have made some remarkable observations (Aboud et al, manuscript under review).
My goal at UC Davis is to build a neuro-oncology program focused on developing novel clinical trials for patients with primary brain tumors. My research interests are in 1) cancer metabolomics and lipidomics, 2) translational research methodologies, 3) clinical trial strategies, and 4) bioinformatics. My other priorities include teaching and the promotion of evidence-based medicine in neuro-oncology in an academic and clinical setting. These important and translational projects will further my career goal of being an independent physician-scientist that is positively impacting the research community and the lives of our patients.