Dickran Kazandjian MD

Dr. Kazandjian received his undergraduate B.A. degree in biology with distinction from Boston University (Summa cum laude) where his research interest was in viral oncogenesis. He remained at Boston University to receive his medical doctorate. He was then commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Air Force medical corps and completed an internal medicine residency at Wilford Hall Medical Center. After residency, Dr. Kazandjian remained on faculty as an active duty physician, attending internist, assistant professor, and conducted HIV-malignancy research to elucidate the role normal human genetic variation plays on HIV pathogenesis.

After six years of active duty including a stent in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom as an intensivist, he continued his training at the NIH as a civilian and completed fellowships in medical oncology (NCI) and hematology (NHLBI). His laboratory-based research involved understanding the role that long intergenic non-coding RNAs play in cancer. This was augmented by his clinical interest and patient care activities in multiple myeloma at the NCI under the mentorship of Dr. Ola Landgren. In the years following fellowship, he continued gaining oncology and clinical trial experience with the NCI multiple myeloma section.

He subsequently joined the FDA Office of Hematology and Oncology Products. He has represented the FDA at several meetings on topics including the accelerated approval of oncology drugs, breakthrough designation, and biomarkers. His clinical interest remains in multiple myeloma where he continues to be clinically active, treating patients and teaching fellows, residents, and students and holds a dual appointment as an FDA-NCI Clinical Investigator. He is a principal investigator and leads the myeloma program under the NCI Lymphoid Malignancies Section.

He has presented his research at prestigious conferences including the American Society of Hematology and American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meetings. Lastly, Dr. Kazandjian has been involved in a multitude of health care missions to Armenia focusing on improvement of medical oncology, education, and arranging for allogeneic stem cell transplantation outside of Armenia.