Prof. Wasif Saif

Brief Biography:

M. Wasif Saif, M.D., is the Professor of Clinical Medicine, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine, Director of the GI Oncology Section of the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC), at Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons, and the Medical Director of the Pancreas Center at the New York-Presbyterian Hospital. Dr. Saif specializes in caring for patients with GI malignancies, in particular pancreatic cancer and colorectal cancer. His expertise lies in research focused on the biochemical and molecular pharmacology of antimetabolites and investigational anticancer agents in an effort to develop therapeutic strategies for patients with cancers arising in the gastrointestinal tract.  Dr. Saif graduated from King Edward Medical University, Lahore, Pakistan. Following an internal medicine residency at the University Of Connecticut School Of Medicine, Farmington, CT; a medical oncology fellowship at the National Cancer Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD and the National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MD; and a hematology fellowship at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), NIH, Bethesda. After the clinical fellowship, he became a junior investigator in the Investigational Drug Branch, NCI where he worked in the Gastrointestinal Malignancies Section. Prior to joining Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Herbert Irving Cancer Center and the New York Presbyterian Hospital, Dr. Saif worked at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) as an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology and the Yale School of Medicine, New Haven as an Associate professor of Medicine, Director of GI Cancers Program and Senior Investigator in the Department of Developmental Therapeutics.

Dr. Saif's translational research efforts are aimed: to characterize the cellular pharmacology and determinants of sensitivity to new antineoplastic agents, and the interaction of these agents with established drugs in an effort to develop new therapies for patients with carcinomas arising in the gastrointestinal tract; to develop new analytical methods that will facilitate implementation of laboratory-based clinical studies that incorporate pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic, and intracellular pharmacodynamic endpoints;  to utilize rational clinical pharmacology principles to assist the clinical development of investigational new drugs; to characterize the clinical pharmacokinetic profile of chemotherapeutic agents and determine if any pharmacodynamic relationships exist with efficacy or toxicity; to study the relationship between biochemical and molecular targets with response to therapy; and to develop therapeutic strategies that selectively target cancer cells with unique biochemical and/or molecular phenotypes. His major contributions include the development of many novel agents, DPD testing and development of capecitabine (Xeloda) as a radiosensitizing agent in pancreatic cancer.

He is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics, Southern Medical Association, and many others. He has published over 200 peer-reviewed articles about cancer treatment and research and over 60 abstracts, and 16 book chapters, beginning in 1997 and continuing to present.  He serves on the editorial board of over 12 peer reviewed cancer journals. Recently, Dr. Saif was chosen by his peers as one of the America's top Oncologist as well as the Leading physician of the World and Top internist in New Haven.

Academic positions:

EDUCATION

1. Apr 1973- Mar 1984: Secondary School Certificate/S.S.C. F.G. Public High School Wah Cantt, Pakistan
2. Apr 1984- July 1986: Pre-Medical/F.Sc./H.S.C.F.G. Sir Syed College Rawal Pindi Cantt, Pakistan
3. Oct 1986 - Jan 1993: Bachelor of Medicine & Bachelor of Surgery (M.B.B.S.); King Edward Medical College (KEMC); Lahore, Pakistan

POST-DOCTORAL TRAINING

1. Feb 1993 – July 1993: Intern, Internal Medicine; Mayo Hospital Lahore, Pakistan
2. Aug 1993 – Jan 1994: Intern, General Surgery; Mayo Hospital Lahore, Pakistan
3. Mar 1994 – June 1995: Medical Officer and Senior Medical Officer; Health Promotion Center; Wah Cantt, Pakistan
4. July 1995 – June 1996: Intern, Internal Medicine; University of Connecticut School of Medicine; Farmington, CT
5. July 1996 – June 1998: Resident, Internal Medicine; University of Connecticut School of Medicine; Farmington, CT
6. July 1998 – June 1999: Medical Staff Fellow (Medical Oncology); National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD
7. July 1999 – Dec 1999: Medical Staff Fellow (Hematology); National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI), NIH Bethesda, MD
8. Jan 1999 – Jan 2000: Chief Fellow, NCI, NIH Bethesda, MD

Certifications

1. 1994: ECFMG (Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates)– Certificate (USMLE Step 1 and 2)
2. 1994: ECFMG English Examination
3. 1994: FCPS - Part 1 (Fellow of College of Physicians and Surgeons, Pakistan)– (Passed on First Attempt)
4. 1996: ECFMG (Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates Certificate– (USMLE Step 3)
5. 1999" American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) – (Certified)
6. 2001: American Board of Internal Medicine– Subspecialty: Hematology (Eligible)
7. 2001: American Board of Internal Medicine– Subspecialty: Medical Oncology (Certified)
8. 2012: American Board of Internal Medicine– Subspecialty: Medical Oncology– Maintenance of Recertification (Oct, 2012)

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

1. Jan 2000 – Dec 2000: Instructor, Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences (USUHS) Bethesda, MD
2. Jan 2000 – June 2001: Medical Staff Fellow in GI Oncology; Medicine Branch, National Cancer Institute (NCI); National Institutes of Health (NIH) and  National Naval Medical Center (NNMC)
Bethesda, MD
3. July 2001- June 2005: Assistant Professor, Division of Hematology/Oncology Department of Medicine University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Birmingham, AL
4. Oct 2001- June 2005: Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Birmingham, AL
5. Oct 2001- June 2005: Assistant Professor, Department of Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Birmingham, AL
6. Oct 2001- June 2005: Associate Scientist, UAB Comprehensive Cancer Center Birmingham, AL
7. July 2005- July 2010: Associate Professor, Section of Medical Oncology  Yale University School of Medicine New Haven, CT
8. July 2005- July 2010: Director, GI Cancer Disease Program Yale Cancer Center New Haven, CT
9. Aug 2010 – June 2012: Professor of Clinical Medicine  Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Medicine  Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons New York, NY
10. Aug 2010 – June 2012: Director of the Section of GI Cancers in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons New York, NY
11. Aug 2010 – June 2012: Medical Director of the Pancreas Center New York-Presbyterian Hospital
New York, NY
12. Aug 2010 – June 2012: Senior Member, Prevention, Control & Disparities Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons New York, NY

HONORS
 
1. 2013: Patients' Choice Award
2. 2013: America’s Top Doctors
3. 2013: America’s Top Doctors
4. 2013: POF Hospital Wah Award
5. 2012: America’s Top DoctorsNew York Metro Area Top Doctor, 2012
6. 2012: Top Ten Doctors
7. 2012: Giovanni Verrelli Spirit Award
8. 2012: America’s Top Oncologist
9. 2012: Patients' Choice Award
10. 2011: America’s Top Oncologist

Research interests:

Oncology, Cancer

Any other information:

Peer Reviewed Articles

1. Weinreb S, Saif MW, Reyes P, Lam LW, Kudesh H, Guha A. 2nd Malignancies in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). Blood, 90: 304b, 1997.
2. Saif MW, Greenberg B. Dysphasia secondary to solitary plasmacytoma. Cancer Control, 1998; 5(5):433-438.
3. Saif MW, Figg D, Reed E, Dahut W. Ascites as a manifestation of metastatic prostate cancer.  Prostate Cancer and Prostate Diseases, 1999; 2(5/6):290-293.
4. Saif MW, Hamilton M, Allegra C. Varicella Zoster virus meningitis and thrombophlebitis in patients with Hodgkin’s disease. Leukemia and Lymphoma, 2000; 39(3/4):421-426.
5. Saif MW, Little R, Hamilton M, Allegra C, Wilson W. Reactivation of chronic hepatitis B following intensive chemotherapy. Annals of Oncology, 2001; 12(1):123-129.
6. Saif MW, Bono R, Greenberg B. AIDS and Thrombosis. A study of 131 patients with HIV infection and report of thromboembolism in 10 patients. AIDS Patient Care and STDS, 2001; 15(6):311-320.
7. Saif MW, Wilson R, Takimoto C, Grem J.  Peripheral neuropathy associated with weekly oral 5-fluorouracil, leucovorin and eniluracil. Anticancer Drugs, 2001; 12(6):525-531.
8. Saif MW, Allegra C, Greenberg B. Bleeding diathesis in multiple myeloma.  Journal of Hematopathology and Stem Cell Research, 2001; 10(5):657-660.
9. Saif MW, Greenberg B.  Hairy cell leukemia and multiple myeloma.  Leukemia and Lymphoma, 2001; 42(5): 1043-1048.
10. Saif MW, Bilgrami A, Greenberg B.  Incidence of second neoplasm in patients with Hairy cell leukaemia. Annals of Saudi Medicine, 2001, 21(3-4):260-261.
11. Saif MW, Hopkins, J, Gore S. Autoimmune paraneoplastic manifestations of MDS.  Leukemia and Lymphoma, 2002; 43(11):2083-92.
12. Guo Xiao-Du, Harold N, M. Saif MW, Schuler B, Szabo E, Hamilton M, Monahan B, Quinn M, Cliatt J, Nguyen D, Grollman F, Thomas R, McQuigan E, Wilson E, Takimoto C, and Grem J. Pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic effects of oral eniluracil, fluorouracil and leucovorin given on a weekly schedule. Cancer Chemother Pharmocol, 2003; 52(1):79-85.
13. Engstrom P, Benson A, Choti M, Doroshow J, Enke C, Fuchs C, Helm J, Kiel K, Ludwig K, Martin E, McGinn C, Rao S, Saif MW, Saltz L, Skibber J, Venook A, Yeatman T. NCCN practice guidelines for colon cancer. JNCCN (Journal of National Comprehensive Cancer Network), 2003; 1(1):40-53.
14. Saif MW, Quinn MG, Thomas RR, Ernst A, Grem JL.  Cardiac toxicity associated with capecitabine therapy.  Acta Oncologica, 2003; 42(4):342-4.
15. Engstrom P, Benson A, Choti M, Doroshow J, Enke C, Fuchs C, Helm J, Kiel K, Ludwig K, Martin E, McGinn C, Rao S, Saif MW, Saltz L, Skibber J, Venook A, Yeatman T. NCCN practice guidelines for rectal cancer. JNCCN (Journal of National Comprehensive Cancer Network), 2003; 1(1):54-63.
16. Engstrom P, Benson A, Choti M, Doroshow J, Enke C, Fuchs C, Helm J, Kiel K, Ludwig K, Martin E, McGinn C, Rao S, Saif MW, Saltz L, Skibber J, Venook A, Yeatman T. NCCN practice guidelines for anal canal cancer. JNCCN (Journal of National Comprehensive Cancer Network), 2003; 1(1):64-68.

What I think of the idea behind WebmedCentral:

I am an academic oncologist and fully support WebmedCentral