May 30, 2026. BG Lab is proud to announce that Oncodaily will be supporting one BG Lab Virtual Fellow in Cancer Groundshot every year.
Dr. Gyawali, the PI of BG Lab and Dr. Gevorg Tamamyan, the Editor-in-Chief of Oncodaily, jointly announced this exciting partnership at the Oncodaily Party at ASCO26 Annual Meeting in Chicago. Dr. Tamamyan stated that BG Lab virtual fellowship embodied the spirit of Oncodaily of spreading cancer education and mentorship equitably and globally and therefore, Oncodaily was happy to join hands with BG Lab in supporting this fellowship. Dr. Gyawali expressed his excitement that such fellowship programs could fill the gap in mentorship experienced by several brilliant young minds in oncology across the world.
Current BG Lab virtual fellow, Dr. Syeda Mina, also spoke on stage, sharing how Dr. Julie Gralow introducing her to this fellowship was career defining for her and how the fellowship has benefitted her thus far.
During the same event, the first such BG Lab fellow under Oncodaily sponsorship was announced. We are happy to announce that Dr. Elen Baloyan from Armenia will be our first BG Lab-Oncodaily Virtual Fellow in Cancer Groundshot. Dr. Baloyan is a young medical oncologist from Armenia who already works as an editor at Oncodaily.
Below is a Q&A with Dr. Baloyan about this fellowship.
Q: How did you come across this opportunity?
A: OncoDaily partnered with BG lab to sponsor a fellow and it felt very timely, because Dr. Gyawali and I had already been trying to find the right fellowship opportunity for me so we could work together.
Q: Why did you apply to this fellowship?
I am very interested in global oncology and common-sense oncology research, and Dr. Gyawali has been one of the key people shaping that field. I think I have a lot to learn from his mentorship, especially in the areas that matter most to me: improving the quality of care in resource-limited settings and contributing to oncology research that improves care.
Q: What do you want to gain from this experience?
I would love to gain the perspective of what I should do in order to develop strategies in LMICs to make sure patients have access to the standards of care, to clinical trials without facing extreme and unbearable financial burden. I also believe that doing more research in LMICs is not only important for equity, but also for better science – science that leads to meaningful treatment options for patients.
Q: What are you most excited about?
I am excited about the whole process. From the mind-opening training and tangible results to, hopefully, bringing out the musical side in Dr. Gyawali.
Q: What are your career goals?
I want to do two main things in my career. First, I want patients, no matter where they live, to never have to wonder HOW they are going to receive optimal cancer care or WHETHER it will be accessible to them. Second, I want to help build research and clinical trial infrastructure in Armenia that can also serve as a model for other LMICs.
Q: To get to know the human side of you: hobbies, favourite books, favourite movies?
I have a lot of hobbies. One of the biggest ones, which I would struggle to call just a hobby because it means much more to me, is music. I write, compose, record, arrange, and mix my own music, and it is a very big part of my life. I also love playing soccer, chess, and swimming. I really like movies too – not only watching them, but also understanding how they are made. During the COVID-19 lockdown, I became fascinated by screenwriting and directing and even read a few books on filmmaking.
My favorite movies include the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Gifted, Erin Brockovic, Aurora’s Sunrise, Whiplash, Matrix, Marvel Movies, Finding Nemo, and of course, Harry Potter. One of my favorite books is a simple one by an Armenian author – Shirvanzade, called “The Artist”. You see the story as you read it. I love the Theory of Everything by Stephen Hawking. And perhaps my favorite of all time is a book of poems my sister wrote when she was six. Now she’s in medical school.
Dr. Bishal Gyawali 
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