Attending
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Ghassan Abou-Alfa is an Attending Physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) and Professor of Medicine at Weill Medical School at Cornell University. Professor Abou-Alfa specializes in in the treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies and in particular, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), intrahepatic and extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (IHC), gallbladder cancer (GB), and fibrolamellar carcinoma (FLC). Professor Abou-Alfa is the immediate previous Chair of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Hepatobiliary Task Force and member of the NCI AIDS Malignancy Consortium Steering Committee. Professor Abou-Alfa is a member of the International Affairs Committee of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO); and is the President for the International Society of Gastrointestinal Oncology (ISGIO). Professor Abou-Alfa majored in biology, earned his medical degree, and now serves as a trustee on the Board of Trustees of his alma mater the American University in Beirut (AUB). Professor Abou-Alfa completed his postdoctoral training in internal medicine, medical oncology, and hematology at Yale University, and received his MBA from Columbia University.
Professor Abou-Alfa’s research focuses on incorporating small biological molecules and checkpoint inhibitors into standard cancer therapies, and led the first efforts evaluating sorafenib, cabozantinib in HCC. Professor Abou-Alfa has also championed key work in determining novel targeted therapies for IHC and GB, targeting IDH-1, FGR-2, and Her-2.
Professor Abou-Alfa strongly advocates for greater awareness of cancer’s global impact; and continues to lead several international educational and research efforts with different institutions worldwide. Professor Abou-Alfa spearheaded many projects in the MENA region, Asia, Africa, South America, and Europe. These efforts include several monthly video-link worldwide educational conferences, joint tissue banking, and fellowhip training capacity building efforts. Collectively, these collaborative efforts Professor Abou-Alfa helped develop the business model that helps enhance academic interaction, set a platform to build on partnerships among institutions, and celebrate global medical diplomacy opportunities.