Bishal Gyawali, MD, PhD, FASCO, is a medical oncologist and an associate professor in oncology and public health sciences and scientist in the Division of Cancer Care and Epidemiology, in Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada. He is also an Ontario Institute for Cancer Research funded Clinician Scientist. His clinical expertise is across multiple adult solid tumors, with special focus on GI, GU, and breast malignancies.
Education: Dr. Gyawali completed his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) at Tribhuvan University in Nepal (2005 – 2011), and then went on to complete his PhD in Medical Oncology at Nagoya University in Japan (2013 – 2017). He has completed post-doctoral training around the world including the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital in Nepal, Nagoya University Hospital in Japan, Brigham and Women’s Hospital at Harvard University, USA and the Department of Oncology at Queen’s University, Canada.
Leadership Positions: Dr. Gyawali currently holds numerous leadership positions. He is on the Expert Advisory Panel on Drug Evaluation and Working Group for the Essential Medicines List for Cancer Drugs for the World Health Organization. He is also a member of the Human Drug Advisory Panel under the Patented Medicines Price Review Board for the Government of Canada, a research consultant for the Nepal Health Research Council, and a health policy advisor for the Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Nepal. Additionally, Dr. Gyawali is a member of the European Society for Medical Oncology, with roles in their MCBS, and Quality-of-Life working groups, along with their Global Policy, Public Policy, and Communications committees. He is also a member of the Health Equity and Outcomes Committee of the American Society for Clinical Oncology. Alongside Dr. Christopher Booth, he is the co-founder of the Common Sense Oncology movement.
Awards and Honors: Dr. Gyawali’s work has been recognized with several grants and awards. He is the recipient of clinician scientist salary award from the Ontario Institute for Cancer Research , Global Oncology Young Investigator Award from Conquer Cancer Foundation in 2020, Young Investigator Award from Current Oncology in 2022, 2023 Azbee Award of Excellence- Gold, Outstanding Young Researcher from Asia 2022, Young Health Researcher Award from Government of Nepal in 2020, and Clare Nelson Grant from Queen’s Health Sciences, 2023.
Publications: Dr. Gyawali has authored or co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed articles in various high impact-impact journals, such as JAMA Oncology, The Lancet Oncology, New England Journal of Medicine, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Annals of Oncology, Nature Medicine, etc. His areas of academic interest include cancer policy, evidence-based oncology, financial toxicities of cancer treatment, clinical trial methodology, supportive care, cancer care disparities, and global oncology. He introduced the term “cancer groundshot” advocating for investments in implementation of proven interventions for global cancer control.
Blogs and Media: In addition to his academic work, Dr. Gyawali has been running a regular column called “Common Sense in Oncology” at Medscape since 2019. From 2016 to 2019, Dr. Gyawali published monthly blogs at eCancer which summarized recent news and publications in oncology. Dr. Gyawali has also published in lay media to further the public’s understanding of various topics in oncology, including important health literacy principles for cancer patients, the FDA Accelerated Drug Approval process, clinical trial design, conducting peer reviews, and cancer policy in LMICs among others. His interviews and studies have been reported in several influential media such as CNN, NPR, Washington Post, STAT News etc.
Invited Talks and Presentations: Dr. Gyawali has been invited for over 100 talks and presentations around the world. The topics of his invited presentations highlight much of the work outlined in his publications including cancer policy, global oncology, evidence-based oncology, financial toxicity, clinical trial methods and critical appraisal.
Editorial and Advisory Positions: Dr. Gyawali is on the editorial and advisory boards for numerous high impact medicine and oncology journals, including The BMJ and BMJ Oncology, Cell, JCO Oncology Practice, JCO Global Oncology, eCancer, etc. Moreover, Dr. Gyawali has served as a peer-reviewer for the New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet and Lancet Oncology, JAMA and JAMA Oncology, alongside numerous other high impact journals. Notably, Dr. Gyawali was honored as the Top Reviewer at the Annals of Internal Medicine in 2014 and 2015, and as one of the Top 3 Reviewers for JCO Global Oncology for 2017 and 2018.
Trainees: Alongside his clinical and academic positions, Dr. Gyawali has mentored over 20 trainees over the last 10 years. He has mentored through various programs such as ASCO’s and ESMO’s virtual mentorship programs and the Journal of Global Oncology reviewer mentorship program. Many of Dr. Gyawali’s trainees have gone on to author and co-author peer-reviewed articles in high-impact journals and pursue careers in academia and medicine.
Teaching: Dr. Gyawali is an Associate Professor of Medical Oncology and Public Health Sciences at Queen’s University, Kingston, Canada. During his time at Queen’s University he has given numerous lectures regarding global oncology, cancer policy and critical appraisal. In addition, he instructs, and has developed the curriculum for the undergraduate course GLPH 488 – Global Oncology: Cancer Care, Policy, Research and Education for the Bachelor of Health Sciences program at Queen’s University.
Dr. Bishal Gyawali 