May Abdel-Wahab

Austria

Biography

May Abdel-Wahab, MD, PhD is the current Director of the Division of Human Health (NAHU) at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vienna, Austria. She has over 30 years of patient care, teaching, and research experience in the field of radiation oncology. Her main areas of focus include healthcare access and training, as well as novel solutions to address disparity and diversity issues. She has served as a member and chair, on various National and International committees, including the United Nations Interagency Task Force Steering committee (UNIATF) on Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs), which coordinates UN-wide activities in NCDs. She is a member of the UN Joint Programme on the Cervical Cancer Control Steering Committee, working at the global and national level with participating countries to support a national comprehensive cervical cancer control programme. She was a Steering Committee member of the Lancet Oncology Commission on Imaging and Nuclear Medicine, studying cost and access in oncology and co-lead on the commission publication. She has served as chair of the ASTRO Committee for Healthcare Access & Training and Co-Chair of the Integration of Health Enterprise in Radiation Oncology (IHE-RO) Planning Committee, working on interconnectivity issues at various levels of patient care. Dr. Wahab has been an avid lecturer and participant on scientific panels. She has also served on expert panels for treatment guidelines and published widely . She has a particular interest in education and curriculum development as a former Residency Program Director and has organized numerous symposia and scientific meetings. She has also served on advisory boards, expert panels, and professional journal editorial boards. She was Principal Investigator on Phase I and Phase II clinical trials and studied the interaction of novel GHRH-antagonists and radiation in her lab. Prior to joining IAEA, she was section head of GI Radiation Oncology at the Cleveland Clinic, USA, and Professor at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner School of Medicine, Case Western University. Her research focused on prostate and GI cancers as well as quality assurance and access in radiotherapy. She is a fellow of both the American Board of Radiology (ACR) and the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and was featured on the Best Doctors in America listing, among other honors.