Ayaad Akand

Ayaad Akand is a clinical research coordinator here at the Georgetown Lombardi Cancer Center. He has found himself screening within the medical records, educating, enrolling, surveying, and collecting biospecimens on behalf of various study teams within the clinic.  The studies Ayaad has coordinated cover a broad range of topics, whether they be interventional or observational. They have also been across different cancer groups such as Breast Cancer or GI-related diseases, and now within the Tercyak lab, a variety of cancer patients of different stages that may potentially be candidates for support within the IMPACT 2.0 program.  

Though Ayaad’s research interests have mainly been in Oncology, he is also pursuing a Master’s in Health Systems Administration at Georgetown. Seeing where healthcare intervention starts within the lab and progresses to trials within the clinic, gaining a holistic understanding of the system itself is a great next step to eventually creating solutions and making care more accessible. He is also the co-founder and president of the Health Systems Administration Student Association, utilizing his experience in student government and leadership to create change within the relatively new program so that it can be its best going forward for future and current students.

Ayaad graduated from the University of Virginia with a Bachelors in Cognitive Science with a concentration in Psychology. Having a background in lab-based oncological research at UVA, it was a smooth transition into patient-facing-clinical trial management. After graduate school he plans on getting involved within the administrative sphere of healthcare.