Dr. Azra Raza

Dr. Azra R. Raza directs the Edward P. Evans Foundation Myelodysplastic Syndrome Center at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and holds the Chan Soon-Shiong Professorship of Medicine. Her clinic integrates bone-marrow morphology, next-generation sequencing, and measurable-residual-disease assays before therapy is selected, ensuring that induction, transplant, or investigational regimens align with each patient’s biology and goals.

 

A translational laboratory underpins this practice. Dr. Raza assembled one of the world’s largest tissue repositories for MDS and acute leukemia, more than fifty-thousand samples, facilitating discoveries in splice-factor mutation biology, apoptotic rewiring, and telomerase inhibition. Her group’s work on BCL-2 and MCL-1 dependence informed early venetoclax combinations, while current trials test mitochondrial-metabolism blockade and menin–KMT2A antagonists. Publications in Nature, Cancer Discovery, and Blood have reshaped concepts of clonal evolution and resistance.

 

Dr. Raza balances bench science with advocacy and mentorship. She founded The First Cell Coalition for Cancer Survivors and testifies internationally for stage-0 interception strategies. Honors such as the Hope Funds Award of Excellence in Medicine and the Lifetime Achievement Award from APPNA acknowledge four decades of scholarship that remain animated by a weekly schedule of direct patient care.