About Us>Medical Advisory Board > Rita Nanda, MD

Rita Nanda, MD

Director, Breast Medical Oncology Program, & Associate Professor, Medicine, The University of Chicago

Highlights

  • LBBC Medical Advisory Board member since 2023
  • Medical oncologist with research interests in identifying new treatments for breast cancer
  • Leader of the University of Chicago’s clinical and translational breast cancer research efforts
  • Widely published and award-winning researcher and speaker

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Rita Nanda, MD, is an associate professor of medicine and director of the breast medical oncology program at The University of Chicago. Her research interests include identifying new treatments for breast cancer, with a focus on triple-negative disease.

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Dr. Nanda leads the University of Chicago’s clinical and translational breast cancer research efforts and serves as a principal investigator for the Translational Breast Cancer Research Consortium (TBCRC) and the ISPY2 Clinical Trial Network. She is a member of several professional organizations, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the American Association of Cancer Research, and the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer.

Dr. Nanda has authored many scientific publications and book chapters, including one of the first reports of immune checkpoint inhibitor therapy for triple-negative breast cancer. She often presents her research at national and international conferences. She has earned several awards, including the 2014 National Cancer Institute Cancer Clinical Investigator Team Leadership Award.

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Experience & accolades

Expertise

  • Medical oncology
  • Immunotherapy
  • Triple-negative breast cancer

Education

  • The University of Chicago
    • Medical doctor
    • Residency in internal medicine
    • Fellowship in hematology/oncology
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    • Bachelor of science, chemical engineering

Experience

  • The University of Chicago (2005-Present)
    • Associate professor, hematology/oncology
    • Assistant professor, hematology/oncology
    • Instructor, hematology/oncology

Awards & distinctions

  • Induction, Salem Community High School Academic Hall of Fame, 2022
  • Chicago’s Exceptional Women in Medicine, Chicago Magazine, 2021
  • Chicago’s Top Doctors, Chicago Magazine, 2021
  • Hero Award, Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Foundation, 2020
  • Chicago’s Top Doctors, Chicago Magazine, 2019
  • Top Doctors, Castle Connolly, 2017
  • Chicago’s Top Doctors, Chicago Magazine, 2017
  • Patient Satisfaction Award, University of Chicago Department of Medicine, 2015
  • Leadership Award, Metastatic Breast Cancer Network, 2015
  • Cancer Clinical Investigator Team Leadership Award, National Cancer Institute, 2014
  • Chief Hematology/Oncology Fellow, 2004
  • Merit Award, ASCO Foundation, 2004
  • Amgen Fellowship Award, 2004
  • Merit Award, ASCO Foundation, 2003
  • Calvin Fentress Research Fellowship Award, 1995
  • National Merit Finalist and Scholar, 1989

Professional memberships & board positions

  • Medical Advisory Board, Living Beyond Breast Cancer
  • American Association for Cancer Research
  • American Society of Clinical Oncology
  • Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer

Publications

  • Onishi N, Bareng TJ, Gibbs J, et al. Effect of Longitudinal Variation in Tumor Volume Estimation for MRI-guided Personalization of Breast Cancer Neoadjuvant Treatment. Radiology Imaging Cancer. 2023
  • Freeman JJ, Sheade J, Zhao F, et al. Demographic and Clinical Characteristics Associated with Familiarity, Interest, and Use of Integrative Therapies among Patients with Breast Cancer. Integr Cancer Ther. 2023
  • Terman E, Sheade J, Zhao F, et al. The impact of race and age on response to neoadjuvant therapy and long-term outcomes in Black and White women with early-stage breast cancer. Breast Cancer Res Treat. 2023
  • Magbanua MJM, Brown Swigart L, Ahmed Z, et al. Clinical significance and biology of circulating tumor DNA in high-risk early-stage HER2-negative breast cancer receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Cancer Cell. 2023
  • Miyashita M, Bell JSK, Wenric S, et al. Molecular profiling of a real-world breast cancer cohort with genetically inferred ancestries reveals actionable tumor biology differences between European ancestry and African ancestry patient populations. Breast Cancer Res. 2023
  • Veeraraghavan J, Gutierrez C, De Angelis C, et al. A multiparameter molecular classifier to predict response to neoadjuvant lapatinib plus trastuzumab without chemotherapy in HER2+ breast cancer. Clin Cancer Res. 2023
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Contributions

Breast cancer statistics

09/20/23 | BY: Rita Nanda

Discover statistics to answer some of the most common questions and to present a general picture of what breast cancer in the US looks like today.

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 | 16 Min. Read

Triple-negative metastatic breast cancer

05/01/23 | BY: Rita Nanda

Metastatic triple-negative breast cancer is a rare form of aggressive breast cancer. Learn more its symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment options.

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 | 11 Min. Read |

Pembrolizumab approved for high-risk triple-negative breast cancer

08/09/21 | BY: Eric Fitzsimmons

The FDA approved the use of pembrolizumab (Keytruda) to treat some early-stage, triple-negative breast cancers, marking the first time an immunotherapy medicine has been approved for use in early-stage breast cancer.

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 | 8 Min. Read