Syed Nabeel Zafar, MD, MPH, FACS, FSSO, was honored with the Global Oncology Yvonne Award during the Yvonne Awards Ceremony at OncoDaily Party 2026, held on May 29 at Park West in Chicago.
Natera was the exclusive partner of the Yvonne Awards Ceremony and OncoDaily Reception.
The recognition highlights Dr. Zafar’s work at the intersection of surgical oncology, global health, health systems strengthening, cancer care equity, and academic leadership. As a surgical oncologist, researcher, educator, and global oncology leader, Dr. Zafar has built a career focused not only on advancing complex cancer surgery, but also on expanding access to high-quality surgical and oncology care across health systems.
The Yvonne Awards, presented by OncoDaily, celebrate individuals whose work is shaping the future of oncology through leadership, innovation, service, and impact. The 2026 ceremony brought together oncology professionals, researchers, advocates, and global health leaders to recognize outstanding contributions across cancer care and research.
A Career Built Across Continents and Disciplines
Dr. Syed Nabeel Zafar’s path reflects a rare combination of clinical excellence, quantitative public health training, academic surgery, and global oncology commitment. He earned his Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree from Aga Khan University in Karachi, Pakistan, before completing a Master of Public Health in Quantitative Methods at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
His surgical training continued in the United States, where he completed a General Surgery Residency at Howard University Hospital in Washington, DC, serving as Administrative Chief Resident from 2016 to 2017. He then completed an Advanced GI and Minimally Invasive Surgery Fellowship at the University of Maryland Medical Center, followed by a Complex General Surgical Oncology Fellowship at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
This training foundation shaped a career that brings together technical surgical expertise, population-level thinking, and a strong focus on systems that determine whether patients can access timely cancer care.
Leading Global Oncology at the University of Wisconsin
Since 2020, Dr. Syed Nabeel Zafar has served as an Assistant Professor in the Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison, Wisconsin.
In 2022, he became Director of the Global Oncology Program at the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, where his work focuses on strengthening international partnerships, improving cancer care delivery, and addressing disparities in access to oncology services.
He also serves as Director of the Robotic HPB/GI Surgical Oncology Program in the Department of Surgery at UWSMPH. His clinical work includes complex surgical oncology, hepatopancreatobiliary and gastrointestinal cancer surgery, and robotic approaches to cancer care.
His appointment as Visiting Faculty in the Department of Surgery further reflects his ongoing commitment to mentorship, education, and international collaboration.
Advancing Surgical Oncology Through Research and Quality Improvement
Dr. Syed Nabeel Zafar’s research portfolio spans pancreatic cancer, machine learning, surgical outcomes, global surgery, health disparities, and quality improvement. His scholarly record includes more than 8,300 citations, with an h-index of 48 and an i10-index of 94.
His selected research funding reflects the same mission seen across his clinical and academic work: improving outcomes through better systems, earlier access, and stronger care pathways.
From 2025 to 2027, he is serving as Principal Investigator for the project “Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Nurse Navigator System to Address Health Disparities and Accelerate Access to Pancreatic Cancer Care,” funded by the Department of Defense Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs.
He has also served as Principal Investigator on the NIH-NCI Early-stage Surgeon Scientist Program project “Machine Learning to Predict Outcomes after Pancreas Cancer Surgery,” and on the Reilly-Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment Grant project “Building Capacity to Improve Surgery and Anesthesia Care in Sub-Saharan Africa.”
Together, these projects reflect a consistent professional focus: using data, implementation, and collaboration to make cancer care more timely, measurable, and equitable.
Recognition for Clinical Excellence and Leadership
Syed Nabeel Zafar’s career has been marked by multiple honors recognizing excellence in clinical care, research, leadership, and academic surgery.
During training, he received the Resident of the Year – Chairman’s Resident Award and later the Chief Resident of the Year award at Howard University Hospital. He was also recognized by the Society of Laparoscopic Surgery with the Outstanding Resident in Laparoscopic Surgery Award.
At MD Anderson Cancer Center, he received the Lupe C Garcia Fellowship in Cancer Research recognition and the Fellow Award for Clinical Excellence from the Department of Surgical Oncology.
His later honors include the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons Junior Faculty Award, the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract International Junior Surgeon Travel Exchange Award, the Society of Asian Academic Surgeons Visiting Professorship Award, and the UW Health Rising Star Leadership – Physician Excellence Award in 2025.
He is a Fellow of the Society of Surgical Oncology and a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, reflecting his standing within surgical oncology and academic surgery.
A Global Oncology Leader With a Surgical Mission
Beyond his institutional roles, Syed Nabeel Zafar contributes to several national and international efforts focused on improving surgical and cancer care worldwide. He serves as Chair of the Quality Improvement Workgroup of the American College of Surgeons – Ethiopia Hub, helping support structured efforts to improve surgical care quality.
He is also Chair of the Global Affairs Committee of the Association of Academic Surgery and a Member of the Lancet Commission on Global Surgical Oncology Part 2.
These roles place Dr. Syed Nabeel Zafar within a broader movement to define surgical oncology as an essential part of global cancer control. His work emphasizes that cancer care cannot be complete without safe, accessible, and high-quality surgery, particularly in regions where late diagnosis, limited infrastructure, and workforce shortages continue to affect outcomes.
Honoring a Career Focused on Access, Systems, and Impact
The Global Oncology Yvonne Award recognizes Dr. Zafar’s contribution to a field that requires both scientific excellence and practical commitment. His career reflects the reality that global oncology is not limited to research collaborations or international meetings. It is built through training programs, quality improvement, data systems, surgical capacity, mentorship, and long-term partnerships.
At OncoDaily Party 2026, his recognition represented more than an individual honor. It highlighted the importance of surgical oncology within the global cancer agenda and the need to continue building systems where patients can receive appropriate care regardless of geography.
Through his clinical work, academic leadership, research funding, and global health engagement, Dr. Syed Nabeel Zafar continues to shape a model of oncology leadership rooted in expertise, equity, and measurable impact.
Written by Nare Hovhannisyan,MD