Nabil F. Saba, MD, FACP

Dr. Saba's academic work focuses on upper aerodigestive malignancies, namely head and neck and esophageal cancer, as well as the clinical development of novel agents and therapeutic modalities.

Titles and Roles

Professor and Vice Chair for Quality and Safety, Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology: Emory University School of Medicine
The Lynne and Howard Halpern Chair in Head and Neck Cancer Research: Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University
Adjunct Professor, Department of Otolaryngology: Emory University School of Medicine
Co-Director, Head and Neck Cancer Multidisciplinary Program: Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University

Medical Oncologist: Head and Neck Cancer; Esophageal Cancer; Thyroid Cancer; Lung Cancer

Research Program: Discovery and Developmental Therapeutics

Biography

Nabil F. Saba, MD, FACP, is Professor and Vice Chair for Quality and Safety in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology and holds a joint appointment as Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology at Emory University School of Medicine. Dr. Saba is The Lynne and Howard Halpern Chair in Head and Neck Cancer Research, and serves as Co-Director of the Head and Neck Cancer Multidisciplinary Program at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University.

Dr. Saba is a recognized expert in immunotherapy for head and neck cancer. His work is focused on translational research and the study and development of novel therapeutic agents and modalities in head and neck and esophageal cancer. He leads several clinical trials and chairs national as well as investigator initiated multi-institution studies focusing on novel approaches for treating these diseases.

Dr. Saba is the elected Chair of the National Cancer Institute's task force for recurrent metastatic head and neck cancer, and chaired the Rare Tumors Task Force of the National Cancer Institute's Head and Neck Cancer Steering Committee; he was recognized by the NCI for his outstanding service as committee chair. Dr. Saba is also an active member of the NRG Oncology and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) Head and Neck Cancer Core Committees. In addition, Dr. Saba has been appointed as a member of the ASCO clinical guidelines committee as well as the ASCO Head and Neck Guideline Advisory Group.

Education

Dr. Saba earned his Medical Degree from the American University of Beirut Medical School. He completed a Residency in Internal Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, and a Clinical Fellowship in Hematology and Oncology at Brown University School of Medicine and a Bone Marrow Transplant Fellowship at the University of Toronto Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Canada.

Research

Dr. Saba's research is focused on clinical and translational work in head and neck, and esophageal cancer. He has been the recipient of several NIH and industry funded grant support to study these malignancies. He has received funding from the NIH to examine novel genomic approaches for diagnosing HPV positive oropharyngeal cancers. He conducts and leads a number of head and neck cancer clinical trials with a focus on biomarker endpoints including two cooperative group studies.

Among Dr Saba's contributions is serving as a co-leader of project 4 of the previously funded Emory Head and Neck Cancer SPORE and serving as a Principal Investigator of the recently submitted Emory Head and Neck Cancer SPORE grant.

Below is a listing of current federal grants for the above principal investigator.
GrantNumber Title

Publications

Dr. Saba has authored more than 150 multiple peer-reviewed articles, editorials, review papers, book chapters as well as two Uptodate chapters. He is the editor of the textbook, "Esophageal Cancer, Prevention, Diagnosis and Treatment" which was published in two editions, and of the textbook, "Sinonasal and Skull Base Malignancies." He is associate editor for Head Neck and a member of the editorial board of Cancer, Oral Oncology, American Journal of Clinical Oncology and Journal of the National Cancer Institute. He has been recognized as an outstanding reviewer for the journal, Cancer.

Publications Publication Date

Awards

Dr. Saba is a recipient of the following awards:

Atlanta Magazine's "Top Doctors", 2005, 2016-2022
Certificate of Appreciation for dedicated volunteer service on Evidence Based Medicine Committee, American Society of Clinical Oncology, 2022
MilliPub Club Award, Emory University School of Medicine, 2020
Director's Service Award, National Cancer Institute, 2019
Outstanding reviewer for journal, Cancer, 2017
Castle Connolly Top Doctors, 2011 and 2014
Distinguished Doctor, Expert Network, 2015
Recognition for outstanding contribution to the Fellowship program, University of Minnesota, Hematology Oncology and transplant section, 2003
Dean's Honor List, American University of Beirut, 1984-1990