Academic History

Nabil Saba, MD, FACP, is Professor and Vice Chair in the Department of Hematology and Medical Oncology at Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, where he also holds the Inaugural Lynne and Howard Halpern Chair in Head and Neck Cancer Research. He serves as Director of the Head and Neck Cancer Medical Oncology Program and Co-leader of the Multidisciplinary Head and Neck Program at Winship Cancer Institute of Emory University. In addition, he holds a joint appointment as Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology at Emory.

Prof. Saba earned his medical degree from the American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon, followed by an internship in internal medicine at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, and residency at Faulkner Hospital, Boston, MA. He completed a fellowship in Hematology and Oncology at Brown University, Providence, RI, and subsequently pursued an additional fellowship in Medical Oncology at Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Canada.

Speaking on advances in head and neck cancers

Prof. Saba is a nationally and internationally recognized expert in head and neck cancers, with a research focus on the development and evaluation of novel therapeutic strategies, particularly immunotherapy and biomarker-driven approaches. He has led over 50 clinical trials and chairs both national and multi-institutional investigator-initiated studies advancing treatments for head and neck and esophageal cancers. His contributions include trials exploring combination therapies such as immune checkpoint inhibitors and targeted agents in HPV-positive head and neck squamous cell carcinomas. He has served as Principal Investigator on multiple grants, including the Lead Academic Participating Site (LAPS) grant under the NCI’s National Clinical Trials Network (NCTN) and the Emory Head and Neck Cancer SPORE grant. His work aims to integrate precision oncology into clinical practice to improve outcomes for patients with upper aero-digestive malignancies.