National and Institutional Leadership and Support of NCI-Sponsored Clinical Trial Research as a Surgical Oncologist

Project Summary: Dr. Akhil Chawla plays a pivotal role in the NCI clinical trials program at Northwestern University Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center (RHLCCC). As a Surgical Oncologist and clinical trial investigator, Dr. Chawla has demonstrated a long-term commitment to the support of NCI sponsored studies

within at Northwestern and nationally through his service and leadership within the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology (Alliance) and the NCI. Dr. Chawla leads the largest pancreatic cancer trial in North America, the Alliance A021806 Trial, for which he serves as a Principal Investigator and Co-Chair. Dr. Chawla has led protocol

development, dissemination, implementation, and quality control for this practice-defining trial. As a leader in the NCI cooperative group space, Dr. Chawla has significant ambition towards the development of novel and practice changing trials. With his strong dedication to team science, Dr. Chawla has leveraged collaboration with experts

in his disease space to refine and develop trial concepts he leads. As Dr. Chawla has shown unique success within NCI sponsored trial development at such an early point in his career, he has quickly become a leader at Northwestern. Dr. Chawla continues to be instrumental in RHLCCC NCI clinical trial activities, both as an

investigator and supporter, including active involvement in protocol assessment, scientific review, and infrastructural expansion of the clinical trials program. With RHLCCC’s LAPS Grant designation, the NCI- designated cancer program has grown significantly with the expansion of NCI clinical trials into community sites

as part of the Northwestern Medicine health system. Dr. Chawla’s clinical and investigative footprint spans from Northwestern University’s academic health campus in Chicago to community cancer sites throughout Chicagoland. He has leveraged these efforts to become a pioneer within RHLCCC and the health system as a

known advocate for the dissemination of NCI sponsored clinical trials to geographically remote and underserved populations within the Northeastern Illinois. Dr. Chawla focuses on three major goals at RHLCCC: 1) lead integration of RHLCCC NCI clinical trials infrastructure across the Northwestern Medicine health system; 2)

increase access and enrollment of racially and geographically diverse populations to NCI clinical trials; and 3) mentor and support junior faculty to participate in NCI-sponsored trial activity at RHLCCC and in NCI trial networks. Dr. Chawla is uniquely positioned at this point in his career to become a dedicated lifelong supporter

and leader of NCI sponsored clinical trials within his institution and throughout the country.