New appointment will lead to improved outcomes for patients with prostate cancer at Monash Health

Dr Azad

Professor Peter Ebeling AO, Head, Department of Medicine is delighted to announce that medical oncologist and researcher Dr Arun Azad, will take up appointments at Monash Health and Monash University’s School of Clinical Sciences (SCS) in the second half of 2015 to focus on pre-clinical and clinical translational research in genitourinary cancers.

Dr Azad’s translational research will focus on the role of new chemotherapeutic agents on castration-sensitive prostate cancer, leading to lead to improved outcomes for patients with prostate cancer at Monash Health in the near future.

An early-career medical oncologist and translational researcher in genitourinary malignancies, Dr Azad currently leads cutting-edge work investigating mechanisms of therapeutic resistance and response in advanced prostate cancer patients through genomic analysis of circulating cell-free DNA (cfDNA) at the British Columbia Cancer Agency, Vancouver, Canada.

Dr Azad has played an active role in the development of five investigator-initiated clinical trials and been the recipient of over $1.5M in competitive funding, including a prestigious CJ Martin Fellowship from the NH&MRC.

His clinical and research activities have resulted in publications in high-impact journals including Journal of Clinical Oncology, European Urology and Lancet Oncology. He has also been the recipient of 15 competitive prizes and awards including Merit Awards at the American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Scientific Meeting and Genitourinary Cancers Symposium.

“It is tremendous we have been able to attract Dr Azad to Monash University and Monash Health,” said Professor Ebeling.

“In addition to research excellence, he will be able to translate his research findings into improving the outcomes of patients with prostate cancer at Monash Health in the foreseeable future.”