Gregory Albert Azzam, MD, PhD

Improving quality of life after radiation therapy, molecular mechanisms of normal tissue toxicities

Dr. Azzam has joined the University of Miami as faculty in the Department of Radiation Oncology as an Assistant Professor.  He received a combined M.D., Ph.D. from Drexel University in Philadelphia in 2015. During his graduate years, he worked in the laboratory of Dr. Maureen Murphy at Fox Chase Cancer Center and The Wistar Institute, where he investigated a polymorphism of the p53 protein that is highly prevalent in the general population and influences cancer susceptibility and therapeutic response.  After obtaining his dual-degree, he spent his intern year in Philadelphia at Crozer-Chester Medical Center.  He was recruited into the Radiation Oncology residency program at the University of Miami and Jackson Memorial Hospital.  During residency, he was trained by physicians and leaders in the latest technologies, including MRI-guided radiation therapy, GammaKnife, and HyperArc radiosurgery platforms.  And now, while in practice at UM, he incorporates Proton therapy technologies to treat his patients as well.  During residency he took a particular interest in radiosurgery of the brain and spine and developed a research protocol to help monitor and improve patient outcomes after radiosurgery.  He later joined a team of physicians, therapists, and researchers led by Dr. Stuart Samuels, whose primary focus is to better understand normal tissue toxicity after radiation therapy.  Coordinating this clinical investigation with his drive for basic science, Dr. Azzam began researching normal tissue toxicity in the laboratory of Dr. Brian Marples.  As he continues with us at UM, he aims to identify molecular targets in healthy tissues that have the therapeutic potential to prevent or reverse the negative consequences of radiation therapy.