# National and Institutional Leadership and Support of NCI-Sponsored Clinical Trial Research as a Surgical Oncologist

> **NIH NIH R50** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $90,538

## Abstract

Project Summary: Dr. Akhil Chawla plays a pivotal role in the NCI clinical trials program at Northwestern
University Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center (RHLCCC). As a Surgical Oncologist and clinical trial
investigator, Dr. Chawla has demonstrated a long-term commitment to the support of NCI sponsored studies
within at Northwestern and nationally through his service and leadership within the Alliance for Clinical Trials in
Oncology (Alliance) and the NCI. Dr. Chawla leads the largest pancreatic cancer trial in North America, the
Alliance A021806 Trial, for which he serves as a Principal Investigator and Co-Chair. Dr. Chawla has led protocol
development, dissemination, implementation, and quality control for this practice-defining trial. As a leader in the
NCI cooperative group space, Dr. Chawla has significant ambition towards the development of novel and practice
changing trials. With his strong dedication to team science, Dr. Chawla has leveraged collaboration with experts
in his disease space to refine and develop trial concepts he leads. As Dr. Chawla has shown unique success
within NCI sponsored trial development at such an early point in his career, he has quickly become a leader at
Northwestern. Dr. Chawla continues to be instrumental in RHLCCC NCI clinical trial activities, both as an
investigator and supporter, including active involvement in protocol assessment, scientific review, and
infrastructural expansion of the clinical trials program. With RHLCCC’s LAPS Grant designation, the NCI-
designated cancer program has grown significantly with the expansion of NCI clinical trials into community sites
as part of the Northwestern Medicine health system. Dr. Chawla’s clinical and investigative footprint spans from
Northwestern University’s academic health campus in Chicago to community cancer sites throughout
Chicagoland. He has leveraged these efforts to become a pioneer within RHLCCC and the health system as a
known advocate for the dissemination of NCI sponsored clinical trials to geographically remote and underserved
populations within the Northeastern Illinois. Dr. Chawla focuses on three major goals at RHLCCC: 1) lead
integration of RHLCCC NCI clinical trials infrastructure across the Northwestern Medicine health system; 2)
increase access and enrollment of racially and geographically diverse populations to NCI clinical trials; and 3)
mentor and support junior faculty to participate in NCI-sponsored trial activity at RHLCCC and in NCI trial
networks. Dr. Chawla is uniquely positioned at this point in his career to become a dedicated lifelong supporter
and leader of NCI sponsored clinical trials within his institution and throughout the country.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10974246
- **Project number:** 1R50CA293523-01
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Akhil Chawla
- **Activity code:** R50 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $90,538
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-16 → 2029-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10974246

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10974246, National and Institutional Leadership and Support of NCI-Sponsored Clinical Trial Research as a Surgical Oncologist (1R50CA293523-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10974246. Licensed CC0.

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