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Nilo Azad

Nilo Azad, MD

Medical Oncology

Accepting New Patients

Highlights

Age Groups Seen

  • Young Adult 18-25
  • Adult 26-64
  • Older Adult 65+

Languages

  • Urdu
  • Hindi
  • English

Gender

Female

Johns Hopkins Affiliations:

  • Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Faculty

About Nilo Azad

Professional Titles

  • Associate Director, Clinical Research
  • Co-Leader of Cancer Genetics and Epigenetics

Primary Academic Title

Professor of Oncology

Johns Hopkins Physician

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Background

Dr. Nilofer S. Azad is Professor of Oncology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and serves as the Associate Cancer Center Director for Clinical Research for the Johns Hopkins Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center. 

Dr. Azad earned her medical degree and completed a residency in internal medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. She then completed a fellowship in oncology and hematology at the National Institute of Health's National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland where she served as chief fellow. Dr. Azad’s research focused on early phase drug development and the intersection of moving exciting laboratory findings into patients for new treatment options

Dr. Azad joined the faculty at the Kimmel Cancer Center in 2008. Dr. Azad’s clinical expertise is in cancers of the gastrointestinal tract, with a concentration in colorectal cancer, cholangiocarcinoma and pancreaticobiliary tract cancer. Her research efforts are dedicated to developing new drug combinations for patients with advanced cancer. In particular, Dr. Azad’s laboratory and clinical trials explore epigenetic therapy in combination with chemotherapy and immunotherapy to improve survival for patients, as well as molecularly targeted drugs.  She is an active clinical trialist, leading multiple clinical trials of molecularly targeted agents for advanced cancer patients. Dr. Azad has received numerous grants for her work from entities such as the NCI (National Cancer Center), American Cancer Society, American Society of Clinical Research, Breakthrough Cancer Foundation, the Lustgarten Foundation, The Gateway Foundation, and the National Comprehensive Cancer Network, among others. She served as Principal for Johns Hopkins on the AACR Stand Up 2 Cancer Colorectal Cancer Dream Team and is a member of the Stand Up 2 Cancer Epigenetics Dream Team, leading the GI cancer initiatives for the group. Dr. Azad is a national leader in GI cancer, including serving as a member of the national NCI Colon Cancer Task Force and as Co-Chair of the Scientific and Medical Advisory Board for the Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation. She has a presidential appointment to the National Cancer Advisory Board.

Clinical Trial Keywords

colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, cholangiocarcinoma, bile duct cancer

Find a Clinical Trial

View all trials by this principal investigator.

Research Interests

GI Cancers: Colorectal, pancreatobiliary

Selected Publications

  • Baretti M, Danilova L, Durham JN, Betts CB, Cope L, Sidiropoulos DN, Tandurella JA, Charmsaz S, Gross N, Hernandez A, Ho WJ, Thoburn C, Walker R, Leatherman J, Mitchell S, Christmas B, Saeed A, Gaykalova DA, Yegnasubramanian S, Fertig EJ, Coussens LM, Yarchoan M, Jaffee E, Azad NS. Entinostat in combination with nivolumab in metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma: a phase 2 clinical trial. Nat Commun. 2024 Nov 12;15(1):9801. doi:10.1038/s41467-024-52528-7. PMID: 39532835; PMCID: PMC11557583.
  • Lee V, Parkinson R, Zahurak M, Cope L, Cercek A, Verheul H, Gootjes E, Lenz HJ, Iqbal S, Jones P, Baylin S, Rami V, Ahuja N, El Khoueiry A, Azad NS. A phase II study of guadecitabine combined with irinotecan vs regorafenib or TAS-102 in irinotecan-refractory metastatic colorectal cancer patients. Int J Cancer. 2024 May 15;154(10):1794-1801. doi: 10.1002/ijc.34845. Epub 2024 Feb 5. PMID:38312102.
  • Baretti M, Murphy AG, Zahurak M, Gianino N, Parkinson R, Walker R, Lopez-Vidal TY, Zheng L, Rosner G, Ahuja N, Kurt S, Azad NS. A study of using epigenetic modulators to enhance response to pembrolizumab (MK-3475) in microsatellite stable advanced colorectal cancer. Clin Epigenetics. 2023 Apr 29;15(1):74. doi: 10.1186/s13148-023-01485-x. PMID: 37120591; PMCID:PMC10149019.36463226; PMCID: PMC9719150.
  • Yarchoan M, Cope L, Ruggieri AN, Anders RA, Noonan AM, Goff LW, Goyal L, Lacy J, Li D, Patel AK, He AR, Abou-Alfa GK, Spencer K, Kim EJ, Davis SL, McRee AJ, Kunk PR, Goyal S, Liu Y, Dennison L, Xavier S, Mohan AA, Zhu Q, Wang-Gillam A, Poklepovic A, Chen HX, Sharon E, Lesinski GB, Azad NS. Multicenter randomized phase II trial of atezolizumab with or without cobimetinib in biliary tract cancers. J Clin Invest. 2021 Dec 15;131(24):e152670. doi: 10.1172/JCI152670.PMID: 34907910; PMCID: PMC8670844.
  • Bever KM, Thomas DL 2nd, Zhang J, Diaz Rivera EA, Rosner GL, Zhu Q, Nauroth JM, Christmas B, Thompson ED, Anders RA, Judkins C, Liu M, Jaffee EM, Ahuja N, Zheng L, Azad NS. A feasibility study of combined epigenetic and vaccine therapy in advanced colorectal cancer with pharmacodynamic endpoint. Clin Epigenetics. 2021 Feb 2;13(1):25. doi: 10.1186/s13148-021-01014-8. PMID: 33531075; PMCID: PMC7856736.

Locations

  1. Skip Viragh Outpatient Cancer Center
    • 201 North Broadway Street, Viragh BLDG 5th FL, Baltimore, MD 21287
    • Get Directions

Expertise

Education

  • Fellowship: National Institutes of Health, Oncology and Hematology, 2008
  • Residency: Baylor College of Medicine, Internal Medicine, 2004
  • Medical Education: Baylor College of Medicine, MD, 2001

Board Certifications

  • Medical Oncology: American Board of Internal Medicine, 2007

Insurance

Please contact the location directly to confirm your health plan is accepted.
Search plans
  • Aetna
  • CareFirst
  • Cigna
  • First Health
  • Geisinger Health Plan
  • HealthSmart/Accel
  • Johns Hopkins Health Plans
  • MultiPlan
  • Pennsylvania's Preferred Health Networks (PPHN)
  • Point Comfort Underwriters
  • Private Healthcare Systems (PHCS)
  • Veteran Affairs Community Care Network (Optum-VACCN)

Ratings & Reviews

4.9 out of 5

60 ratings, 18 reviews

The Patient Rating score is an average of all responses to physician related questions on the national CG-CAHPS Medical Practice patient experience survey through Press Ganey. Responses are measured on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best score. Comments are also gathered from our CG-CAHPS Medical Practice Survey through Press Ganey and displayed in their entirety. Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy.

Overall Rating by Patient
Provider Listened Carefully
Provider Explained Things Clearly
Provider Knew Medical History
Provider Showed Respect
Provider Spent Enough Time
Search reviews
    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 3/9/2026

    Great

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 2/16/2026

    Simply excellent

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 2/9/2026

    Very knowledgeable and helpful

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 2/2/2026

    Dr.Azad is exceptional. She combines a very high level of knowledge with a pleasant and personable manner.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 2/2/2026

    Dr Azad is amazing!

    4 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 1/5/2026

    Clear advice on next steps with my primary oncologist

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 12/1/2025

    Knowledgeable and good bedside manner

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 12/1/2025

    Excellent provider.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 11/17/2025

    Dr. Azad has an excellent bedside manner. She is very positive and is committed to helping me manage my cancer the way I want to manage it. She understands that this is a long-term illness and I need to balance my social emotional needs with my medical needs.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 10/27/2025

    She's the best

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 10/13/2025

    I let everyone know the quality of care I receive at JsH

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 10/13/2025

    Excellent reaponsiveness and hood communixator/caregiver

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 10/13/2025

    Dr Azad is innovative, thorough, and caring. I would recommend her and her team to any patient experiencing similar cancer.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 10/13/2025

    Very empathetic and explained all necessary details for clinical trial

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 8/11/2025

    Informative, knowledgeable & compassionate

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 7/7/2025

    Excellent service

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 6/3/2025

    There's none better than Dr Azad

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 6/2/2025

    I respect and appreciate the care that Dr. Azad has provided me for nearly 7 years!