Jul 11, 2018 9:00 AM


Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) physician-scientist Ahmad Halwani, MD, has been selected by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to receive a Cancer Clinical Investigator Team Leadership Award. This award recognizes physician-scientists for their contributions to clinical cancer research. It also provides financial support for ongoing research and leadership development to enable recipients to further advance their clinical research careers.

Halwani’s award was announced at the Clinical Trials and Translational Research Advisory Committee meeting this morning in Chicago.

Halwani was nominated to receive this award by Mary Beckerle, PhD, HCI CEO and Director. “Dr. Halwani is an exceptional contributor to HCI’s clinical trials programs,” said Beckerle. “He has distinguished himself by the quality of his accomplishments and is an example of the type of physician-scientist our cancer center works to cultivate.”

Halwani joined HCI in 2012, and specializes in the treatment of blood-related cancers, including lymphoma and leukemia. He holds an appointment as an assistant professor of Internal Medicine at the University of Utah, and he is a staff physician at the George E. Whalen Salt Lake City Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

In addition to his clinical activities,  Halwani and his colleagues use electronic healthcare records to research better treatment practices for oncology patients. “My research is interdisciplinary, bringing epidemiology, health informatics, and clinical expertise together. This grant will allow us to leverage electronic health record information to streamline the enrollment of cancer patients on appropriate trials.

Halwani is grateful to HCI leadership for nominating him for the award and to NCI for seeing the potential of his work. “I feel extremely fortunate, and I’m appreciative of the fact that NCI decided to recognize and help fund our research, research that I believe is important to improving the lives of cancer patients.”

Halwani received his medical degree at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. Afterwards, he completed his residency in internal medicine and received two consecutive fellowships in allergy and immunology and medical oncology at the University of Iowa.

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Debby Rogers
Public Relations - Huntsman Cancer Institute
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About Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah

Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah is the official cancer center of Utah. The cancer campus includes a state-of-the-art cancer specialty hospital as well as two buildings dedicated to cancer research. HCI treats patients with all forms of cancer and is recognized among the best cancer hospitals in the country by U.S. News and World Report. As the only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in the Mountain West, HCI serves the largest geographic region in the country, drawing patients from Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. More genes for inherited cancers have been discovered at HCI than at any other cancer center in the world, including genes responsible for hereditary breast, ovarian, colon, head, and neck cancers, along with melanoma. HCI manages the Utah Population Database, the largest genetic database in the world, with information on more than 11 million people linked to genealogies, health records, and vital statistics. HCI was founded by Jon M. and Karen Huntsman.