Fariba Asrari, MD

Dr. Meyer will serve as the lead medical oncologist for adult sarcoma patients, and will focus on building the Adult Sarcoma and Connective Tissue Oncology Program. In collaboration with pediatric oncologist David Loeb, M.D., Ph.D., and orthopaedic surgeon Kristy Weber, M.D., Meyer will bring novel therapies to the clinic for sarcoma patients.Meyer received his bachelors and masters degrees in cell and molecular biology from Stanford University. From there, he joined the Medical Scientist Training Program at Baylor College of Medicine and earned his medical degree followed by a doctorate in immunology. Meyer completed his residency at the University of Maryland and served as chief resident in medicine from 2004-2005. Afterward, he joined our fellowship program in medical oncology and has been working in the laboratory of Jonathan Powell, M.D., Ph.D., on projects relating to the characterization of molecular regulatory pathways involved in T-cell activation and energy. As a third-year fellow, Meyer served as the chief fellow for our Training Programs in Hematology and Medical Oncology and he received a Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology in 2010.

Dr. Nilofer S. Azad is Professor of Oncology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and serves as the Associate Cancer Center Director for Clinical Research for the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center. Dr. Azad earned her medical degree and completed a residency in internal medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. She then completed a fellowship in oncology and hematology at the National Institute of Health's National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland where she served as chief fellow. Dr. Azad’s research focused on early phase drug development and the intersection of moving exciting laboratory findings into patients for new treatment options Dr. Azad joined the faculty at the Kimmel Cancer Center in 2008. Dr. Azad’s clinical expertise is in cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, with a concentration in colorectal cancer, cholangiocarcinoma and pancreaticobiliary tract cancer. Her research efforts are dedicated to developing new drug combinations for patients with advanced cancer. In particular, Dr. Azad’s laboratory and clinical trials explore epigenetic therapy in combination with chemotherapy and immunotherapy to improve survival for patients, as well as molecularly targeted drugs. She is an active clinical trialist, leading multiple clinical trials of molecularly targeted agents for advanced cancer patients. Dr. Azad has received numerous grants for her work from entities such as the NCI (National Cancer Center), American Cancer Society, American Society of Clinical Research, Breakthrough Cancer Foundation, the Lustgarten Foundation, The Gateway Foundation, and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, among others. She served as Principal for Johns Hopkins on the AACR Stand Up 2 Cancer Colorectal Cancer Dream Team and is a member of the Stand Up 2 Cancer Epigenetics Dream Team, leading the GI cancer initiatives for the group. Dr. Azad is a national leader in GI cancer, including serving as a member of the national NCI Colon Cancer Task Force and as Co-Chair of the Scientific and Medical Advisory Board for the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation. She has a presidential appointment to the National Cancer Advisory Board.

Julie R. Brahmer, M.D., M.Sc. is the Director of the Thoracic Oncology Program, Professor of Oncology at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins and the Marilyn Meyerhoff Professor in Thoracic Oncology. She also directs the Kimmel Cancer Center on the Johns Hopkins Bayview campus and is co-principal investigator on Johns Hopkins' National Clinical Trials Network.Dr. Brahmer received her undergraduate degree in Chemistry and Philosophy in 1989 from the Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska and went on to receive her medical degree from the University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Medicine in 1993. Completing her internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the University of Utah, Dr. Brahmer later became the Chief Medical Resident until moving to Baltimore to complete her fellowship in Medical Oncology at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins. Dr. Brahmer is an active clinical leader in the treatment of lung cancer and mesothelioma. She leads the organization of the multidisciplinary thoracic malignancy conference whose members meet weekly to discuss thoracic malignancy cases that need a multidisciplinary review/approach. Dr. Brahmer's research and clinical practice focuses on the development of new therapies for the treatment and prevention of lung cancer and mesothelioma. Dr. Brahmer's research interests include leading early phase immunotherapy trials of anti-PD-1 antibodies, international phase III studies of immunotherapies in lung cancer and investigator-initiated trials evaluating epigenetic therapies in combination with immunotherapies.She is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Thoracic Committee and Cancer Prevention Steering Committee. She is one of the founding Board members for the National Lung Cancer Partnership (formerly Women Against Lung Cancer). Within the National Lung Cancer Partnership, she currently serves as a member and the Chairman of the Scientific Executive Committee. She is also on the medical advisory board of the Lung Cancer Research Fund and the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation.