Zachary S. Buchwald, MD, PhD

Role

Radiation Oncology
Specialty

Skin Cancer and Melanoma
Research Program

Cancer Immunology
Practicing Since

2020

Call 404-778-3473

Background

A radiation oncologist and physician-scientist, Zachary Buchwald, MD, PhD, specializes in radiation and immunotherapy for cutaneous malignancies. He is actively involved in both basic and clinical research. In his laboratory, he studies ways to enhance the immune response against melanoma and other cancers using radiation.

Dr. Buchwald earned his PhD in immunology and his medical degree from St. Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri. He completed his residency in radiation oncology at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, serving as co-chief resident in his final year. During residency, he completed the prestigious Holman Pathway research fellowship.

Titles & Roles

Associate Professor, Department of Radiation Oncology

Emory University School of Medicine
Assistant Director for Basic Research and Shared Resources

Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University

Education & Training

Education

Residency, Radiation Oncology, 2020
Emory University School of Medicine
Internship, Internal Medicine, 2016
Emory University School of Medicine
Medical Education, MD, 2015
Saint Louis University School of Medicine

Research

Dr. Buchwald is actively involved in both basic and clinical research. In his laboratory, he studies how radiation can enhance the immune response against melanoma and other cancers. His work focuses on understanding how different T-cell subsets are stimulated by radiation, the role of the tumor-draining lymph node in this process, and how to improve it to help control disease in patients with locally advanced or metastatic cancer. He also investigates ways to overcome steroid-induced immunosuppression of the anti-cancer immune response using focal high-dose radiation and combination checkpoint blockade. His lab is exploring how radiation can modulate the immune response to viral infections and inflammatory diseases. He plans to continue translating these studies into clinical trials to improve long-term patient outcomes.

View Current Clinical Trials


Comparing the Addition of Radiation Either Before or After Surgery for Patients With Brain Metastases Phase III Conditions Metastatic Malignant Neoplasm in the Brain Location Emory University Hospital Midtown, Emory Saint Joseph's Hospital, Winship Cancer Institute

Grants

View Grants

Grant Number	Title
1K08CA270401-01A1	The role of stem-like CD8 T-cells in the abscopal response
1R01CA301614-01	Exploiting SAMHD1 in Directing Radiation and Immunologic Dynamics
5K08CA270401-02	The role of stem-like CD8 T-cells in the abscopal response
5K08CA270401-03	The role of stem-like CD8 T-cells in the abscopal response

Publications

Dr. Buchwald has been published in a number of leading journals including Immunity, Cancer, JCI Insight, and Scientific Reports.

Title/Journal	Authors	Publication Date
Skin Microbiome, Inflammation, and Skin Toxicities in Women With Breast Cancer Receiving Moderately Hypofractionated Radiation Therapy. International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics	J Bai, C Gong, YJ Hu, DW Bruner, MA Torres, ZS Buchwald, JY Lin	08/01/2025
Combination radiation and αPD-L1 enhance tumor control by stimulating CD8+ PD-1+ TCF-1+ T cells in the tumor-draining lymph node. Nature communications	Y Shen, E Connolly, M Aiello, C Zhou, P Chappa, H Song, P Tippitak, T Clark, M Cardenas, N Prokhnevska, A Mariniello, I De Bruyker, MS Pagadala, VR Dhere, S Rafiq, AH Kesarwala, A Orthwein, SN Thomas, SL Zhang, MK Khan, JB Dixon, GB Lesinski, MC Lowe, H Kissick, DS Yu, CM Paulos, NC Schmitt, ZS Buchwald	04/14/2025
Lymphatic vessel network injury reduces local tumor control despite preservation of the tumor-draining lymph node. Scientific reports	LN Liebman, Y Shen, ZS Buchwald, Z Nepiyushchikh, Z Qi, AJ García, JB Dixon	01/28/2025
Impact of race, ethnicity, and social determinants on outcomes following immune checkpoint therapy. Journal for immunotherapy of cancer	RK Nayak, M Aiello, LM Maldonado, TY Clark, ZS Buchwald, A Chang	10/26/2024
Pre-operative stereotactic radiosurgery and peri-operative dexamethasone for resectable brain metastases: a two-arm pilot study evaluating clinical outcomes and immunological correlates. Nature communications	CS Jansen, MS Pagadala, MA Cardenas, RS Prabhu, S Goyal, C Zhou, P Chappa, BT Vo, C Ye, B Hopkins, J Zhong, A Klie, T Daniels, M Admassu, I Green, NT Pfister, SG Neill, JM Switchenko, N Prokhnevska, KB Hoang, MA Torres, S Logan, JJ Olson, EK Nduom, L Del Balzo, K Patel, SH Burri, AL Asher, S Wilkinson, R Lake, AH Kesarwala, KA Higgins, P Patel, V Dhere, AG Sowalsky, H Carter, MK Khan, H Kissick, ZS Buchwald	10/14/2024
Drug's Journey of a Thousand Papers Begins With a Single Step. JCO clinical cancer informatics	PF Innominato, NI Wreglesworth, A Antonini, ZS Buchwald	10/01/2024
Pembrolizumab and low-dose, single-fraction radiotherapy for patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma: a prospective, single-centre, single-group, open-label, phase 2 pilot trial in the USA. The Lancet. Haematology	MK Khan, TH Nasti, JY Qian, TJ Kleber, JM Switchenko, JL Kaufman, AJ Nooka, MV Dhodapkar, ZS Buchwald, D Obiekwe, S Lonial, R Ahmed	07/01/2024
Platinum-Based Chemotherapy Attenuates the Effector Response of CD8 T Cells to Concomitant PD-1 Blockade. Clinical cancer research : an official journal of the American Association for Cancer Research	A Mariniello, TH Nasti, DY Chang, M Hashimoto, S Malik, DT McManus, J Lee, DJ McGuire, MA Cardenas, P Umana, V Nicolini, R Antia, A Saha, Z Buchwald, H Kissick, E Ghorani, S Novello, D Sangiolo, GV Scagliotti, SS Ramalingam, R Ahmed	05/01/2024
Total scalp irradiation: A study comparing multiple types of bolus and VMAT optimization techniques. Journal of applied clinical medical physics	TM Davis, K Luca, LJ Sudmeier, ZS Buchwald, MK Khan, X Yang, E Schreibmann, J Zhang, J Roper	04/01/2024
Impact of immunotherapy time-of-day infusion on survival and immunologic correlates in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma: a multicenter cohort analysis. Journal for immunotherapy of cancer	JS Patel, Y Woo, A Draper, CS Jansen, JW Carlisle, PF Innominato, FA Lévi, L Dhabaan, VA Master, MA Bilen, MK Khan, MC Lowe, H Kissick, ZS Buchwald, DC Qian	03/26/2024
Radiation and anti-PD-L1 synergize by stimulating a stem-like T cell population in the tumor-draining lymph node. Research square	Y Shen, E Connolly, M Aiello, C Zhou, P Chappa, H Song, P Tippitak, T Clark, M Cardenas, N Prokhnevska, A Mariniello, MS Pagadala, VR Dhere, S Rafiq, AH Kesarwala, A Orthwein, SN Thomas, MK Khan, J Brandon Dixon, GB Lesinski, MC Lowe, H Kissick, DS Yu, CM Paulos, NC Schmitt, ZS Buchwald	03/06/2024
SAMHD1 expression contributes to doxorubicin resistance and predicts survival outcomes in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma patients. NAR cancer	W Daddacha, D Monroe, AJ Schlafstein, AE Withers, EB Thompson, D Danelia, NC Luong, F Sesay, SK Rath, ER Usoro, ME Essien, AT Jung, JG Jiang, J Hu, B Mahboubi, A Williams, JE Steinbeck, X Yang, ZS Buchwald, WS Dynan, JM Switchenko, B Kim, MK Khan, DL Jaye, DS Yu	03/01/2024
The Deubiquitylase Otub1 Regulates the Chemotactic Response of Splenic B Cells by Modulating the Stability of the γ-Subunit Gng2. Molecular and cellular biology	VM Luo, C Shen, S Worme, A Bhagrath, E Simo-Cheyou, S Findlay, S Hébert, W Wai Lam Poon, Z Aryanpour, T Zhang, RP Zahedi, J Boulais, ZS Buchwald, CH Borchers, JF Côté, CL Kleinman, JN Mandl, A Orthwein	01/01/2024
CD28-CD57+ T cells from head and neck cancer patients produce high levels of cytotoxic granules and type II interferon but are not senescent. Oncoimmunology	BLC Kinney, B Brammer, V Kansal, CJ Parrish, HT Kissick, Y Liu, NF Saba, ZS Buchwald, MW El-Deiry, MR Patel, BJ Boyce, AS Kaka, JH Gross, HM Baddour, AY Chen, NC Schmitt	01/01/2024
The expanding role of IAP antagonists for the treatment of head and neck cancer. Cancer medicine	V Kansal, BLC Kinney, S Uppada, NF Saba, WA Stokes, ZS Buchwald, NC Schmitt	07/01/2023
Immune niches in brain metastases contain TCF1+ stem-like T cells, are associated with disease control and are modulated by preoperative SRS. Research square	CS Jansen, RS Prabhu, MS Pagadala, P Chappa, S Goyal, C Zhou, SG Neill, N Prokhnevska, M Cardenas, KB Hoang, J Zhong, M Torres, S Logan, JJ Olson, EK Nduom, L Del Balzo, K Patel, SH Burri, AL Asher, S Wilkinson, R Lake, KA Higgins, P Patel, V Dhere, AG Sowalsky, MK Khan, H Kissick, ZS Buchwald	03/23/2023
Statin drugs enhance responses to immune checkpoint blockade in head and neck cancer models. Journal for immunotherapy of cancer	V Kansal, AJ Burnham, BLC Kinney, NF Saba, C Paulos, GB Lesinski, ZS Buchwald, NC Schmitt	01/01/2023
Immune checkpoint inhibitors and timing of administration - Authors' reply. The Lancet. Oncology	DC Qian, ZS Buchwald	02/01/2022
Skin Microbiome and Treatment-Related Skin Toxicities in Patients With Cancer: A Mini-Review. Frontiers in oncology	BN Richardson, J Lin, ZS Buchwald, J Bai	01/01/2022
Effect of immunotherapy time-of-day infusion on overall survival among patients with advanced melanoma in the USA (MEMOIR): a propensity score-matched analysis of a single-centre, longitudinal study. The Lancet. Oncology	DC Qian, T Kleber, B Brammer, KM Xu, JM Switchenko, JR Janopaul-Naylor, J Zhong, ML Yushak, RD Harvey, CM Paulos, DH Lawson, MK Khan, RR Kudchadkar, ZS Buchwald	12/01/2021
The Abscopal Effect: A Review of Pre-Clinical and Clinical Advances. International journal of molecular sciences	JR Janopaul-Naylor, Y Shen, DC Qian, ZS Buchwald	10/14/2021
Immunotherapeutic Strategies for Head and Neck Cancer. Otolaryngologic clinics of North America	ZS Buchwald, NC Schmitt	08/01/2021
Immunomodulatory Low-Dose Whole-Lung Radiation for Patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019-Related Pneumonia. International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics	CB Hess, TH Nasti, VR Dhere, TJ Kleber, JM Switchenko, ZS Buchwald, WA Stokes, BD Weinberg, N Rouphael, JP Steinberg, KD Godette, DJ Murphy, R Ahmed, WJ Curran, MK Khan	03/15/2021
Leptomeningeal disease and neurologic death after surgical resection and radiosurgery for brain metastases: A multi-institutional analysis. Advances in radiation oncology	RS Prabhu, BE Turner, AL Asher, SR Marcrom, JB Fiveash, PM Foreman, RH Press, ZS Buchwald, WJ Curran, KR Patel, WG Breen, PD Brown, KR Jethwa, IS Grills, JD Arden, LM Foster, MA Manning, ZK Vaslow, SH Burri, SG Soltys	01/01/2021
The Association Between Radiation Therapy Dose and Overall Survival in Patients With Intracranial Infiltrative Low-Grade Glioma Treated With Concurrent and/or Adjuvant Chemotherapy. Advances in radiation oncology	RS Prabhu, MC Ward, JH Heinzerling, CD Corso, ZS Buchwald, R Dhakal, AL Asher, AL Sumrall, SH Burri	01/01/2021
Immunomodulatory Low-Dose Whole-Lung Radiation for Patients with COVID-19-Related Pneumonia. International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics	CB Hess, ZS Buchwald, WA Stokes, T Nasti, J Switchenko, BD Weinberg, N Rouphael, JP Steinberg, KD Godette, DJ Murphy, R Ahmed, WJ Curran, MK Khan	12/01/2020
Lung Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy and Concurrent Immunotherapy: A Multicenter Safety and Toxicity Analysis. International journal of radiation oncology, biology, physics	S Tian, JM Switchenko, ZS Buchwald, PR Patel, JW Shelton, SE Kahn, RN Pillai, CE Steuer, TK Owonikoko, M Behera, WJ Curran, KA Higgins	09/01/2020
Moderately Hypofractionated Radiation for Benign Meningiomas and Schwannomas: A Report of 70 Patients Treated Between 2008 and 2018. Advances in radiation oncology	VR Dhere, S Tian, Z Buchwald, X Jiang, C Zhang, Z Chen, BR Eaton, HG Shu, WJ Curran, J Zhong	01/01/2020

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