Rajat Thawani, M.D.

  • Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Hematology/Medical Oncology, School of Medicine

Biography

Dr. Rajat Thawani is a medical oncologist at 博彩网站 Knight Cancer Institute. He cares for adult patients with a variety of conditions, including:

  • Lung cancer
  • Thymic cancers and thymoma
  • Phase 1 clinical trials
  • Head and neck cancers

In addition to treating cancers, he leads and designs clinical trials, which means he can offer patients access to new, promising treatments not widely available elsewhere. He is especially interested in understanding how targeted therapies interact with the immune system and how they can be used to improve outcomes through clinical trials. His research has been published in leading journals like CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Annals of Oncology, and Journal of Thoracic Oncology. He has also presented his research at many national and international conferences. Currently, he is involved in developing many innovative clinical trials with multiple collaborators across the globe. 

His clinical interest includes lung cancer in non-smokers, sinonasal tumors, and designing phase 1 clinical trials targeted at patient groups to identify better treatments with fewer side effects. After two years at the University of Chicago, he is back at the Knight Cancer Institute, offering patients the most advanced therapies with specialized and personalized care. At the 博彩网站 Knight Cancer Institute, he can work with a team of experts and supportive services to help patients through every step of their cancer journey, from diagnosis to treatment and recovery.

His approach to patient care is deeply patient-centered. He works hard to understand each patient’s story, goals, and priorities to build the right treatment plan. Whether that involves chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or targeted therapies, he always aims to provide the most effective and compassionate care possible. Dr. Thawani actively participates in public education and advocacy.

When not at work, he enjoys spending time with my family and friends, hiking around the beautiful Pacific Northwest, and baking.

Education and training

  • Degrees

    • M.D., 2014, University of Delhi
  • Internship

    • Internal Medicine, Maimonides Medical Center, 2017-18
  • Residency

    • Internal Medicine, Maimonides Medical Center, 2018-20
  • Fellowship

    • Hematology and Oncology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, 2023
  • Certifications

    • ABMS - Internal Medicine
    • ABMS - Medical Oncology

Memberships and associations:

  • American Association of Cancer Research
  • American Society of Clinical Oncology
  • International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer

Areas of interest

  • Lung Cancer
  • Clinical Trials
  • Translational Oncology
  • Head and Neck Cancer

Honors and awards

  • Education Award, International Association of the Study of Lung Cancer , 2023 and 2025
  • Oregon Medical Research Foundation Early Career Investigator Award, 2022
  • Resident Achievement Award, Maimonides Medical Center, 2019
  • Associate Editor (Commissioning), Current Problems in Cancer, Elsevier
  • Member, Global Policy and Partnership, IASLC 2023 -2025
  • Societies Member, Trainee and Early Career Committee, ASCO 2023 –
  • ‘Excellence in research’ Award, Maimonides Medical Center, 2019
  • ‘Excellence in research’ Award, Maimonides Medical Center, 2020
  • Quality, Patient Safety and Advocacy Award, New York American College of Physicians, 2019

Publications

Elsevier pure profile

Selected publications

  • Thawani R, Bestvina CM, Vokes EE, Juloori A. Rationale for Investigation of Neoadjuvant Chemoimmunotherapy Before Chemoradiation in Unresectable Stage III Non–Small Cell Lung Cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2025 Mar 27:JCO-24. 
  • Harris E, Taflin NF, Chitkara A, Tagliamento M, Bestvina CM, Vakkalagadda CV, Besse B, Thawani R. Time to rethink platinum choices in the era of immunotherapy in lung cancer. Annals of Oncology. 2025 Feb 1;36(2):218-20. 
  • Bestvina CM, Hara JH, Karrison T, Bowar B, Chin J, Garassino MC, Pitroda SP, Thawani R, Vokes EE, Gan G, Zhang J. DARES: a phase II trial of durvalumab and ablative radiation in extensive-stage small cell lung cancer. Clinical Lung Cancer. 2024 Dec 1;25(8):e448-52. 
  • Thawani R, Repetto M, Keddy C, Nicholson K, Jones K, Nusser K, Beach CZ, Harada G, Drilon A, Davare MA. TKI type switching overcomes ROS1 L2086F in ROS1 fusion-positive cancers. NPJ precision oncology. 2024 Aug 8;8(1):175. 
  • Thawani R, Kummar S. Combining PARP Inhibitor With Immunotherapy-Does the Promise of Preclinical Data Translate to Clinic? JAMA Oncol. 2023 Jan 1;9(1):25-27. doi:  10.1001/jamaoncol.2022.4591. PMID: 36394835. 
  • Thawani R, Kim MS, Arastu A, Feng Z, West MT, Taflin NF, Thein KZ, Li R, Geltzeiler M, Lee N, Fuller CD, Grandis JR, Floudas CS, Heinrich MC, Hanna E, Chandra RA. The contemporary management of cancers of the sinonasal tract in adults. CA Cancer J Clin. 2023 Jan;73(1):72-112. doi: 10.3322/caac.21752. Epub 2022 Aug 2. PMID: 35916666; PMCID: PMC9840681. 
  • Thawani R, McLane M, Beig N, Ghose S, Prasanna P, Velcheti V, Madabhushi A. Radiomics and radiogenomics in lung cancer: A review for the clinician. Lung Cancer. 2018 Jan;115:34-41. doi: 10.1016/j.lungcan.2017.10.015. Epub 2017 Nov 8. PMID: 29290259. 

Publications