Akhil Chawla MD, FACS

Dr. Akhil Chawla is Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery for Regional Integration at Northwestern University. He is a Complex Surgical Oncologist and Clinical Assistant Professor at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Chawla is a multi-faceted leader across the Northwestern Medicine system. He serves as Director of Surgical Oncology for the South Region, Director of Oncology Research in the West Region, and Director of the Northwestern Medicine Pancreatic Cyst and High-Risk Clinic.

He is a nationally recognized clinical trialist and the principal investigator of Alliance A021806, the largest pancreatic cancer clinical trial in North America. He is also the recipient of the National Cancer Institute’s prestigious R50 award, a designation that underscores his national leadership in integrating clinical trials across a multi-hospital health system. This award supports his work at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center to build infrastructure and expand access to investigator-led clinical trials throughout the Northwestern Medicine network.

Dr. Chawla also serves as the Surgeon Lead for the Department of Surgery Clinical Trials Core and directs the Northwestern Medicine Surgical Oncology Tumor Bank, Biorepository, and Translational Research Laboratory. His research focuses on clinical trials, biomarker design, and response assessment of systemic therapies in solid tumors. He trained at Case Western Reserve University, MD Anderson Cancer Center, and the Harvard Combined Complex Surgical Oncology Fellowship Program. Through his clinical and research efforts, Dr. Chawla remains deeply committed to advancing the treatment of patients with cancer.