Head, Division of Human Health, IAEA
May Abdel-Wahab, MD, PhD, FASTRO is the Director of the Division of Human Health at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, Austria, where she leads a team of nutrition specialists, radiologists, nuclear medicine physicians, radiation oncologists, radiobiologists and medical physicists to support countries around the world on addressing global health challenges through the development and application of nuclear and related techniques.
With over 30 years of patient care, teaching and research experience, she is a radiation oncologist specialising in the treatment of prostate and gastrointestinal cancers. Her main areas of general focus include healthcare access and training as well as novel solutions to remedy disparity and diversity issues. She co-led the 2024 Lancet Oncology Commission on Radiotherapy and Theranostics and co-authored the 2021 Lancet Oncology Commission report on Medical Imaging and Nuclear Medicine. She has also served as a member and chair of various international committees, including the Steering Committee of the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force (UNIATF) on the Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases and the Steering Committee of the United Nations Joint Programme on the Cervical Cancer Control. At the national level, she has chaired the American Society of Radiation Oncology’s Committee for Healthcare Access and Training and co-chaired the Integration of Health Enterprise in Radiation Oncology (IHE-RO) Planning Committee, tackling interconnectivity issues within patient care. Dr Wahab has published widely in high impact journals; delivered invited lectures around the world; and participated in advisory boards, editorial boards, and expert panels for treatment guidelines.
Prior to joining the IAEA, she served as Section Head of Gastrointestinal Radiation Oncology at the Cleveland Clinic in the United States and as Professor at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner School of Medicine, Case Western University. Her research focused on prostate cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, quality assurance, safety and access to radiotherapy. A Principal Investigator on Phase I and Phase II clinical trials, she also studied the interaction of novel GHRH-antagonists and radiation in her lab in close coordination with Dr Andrew Schally. As a former residency program director, she has a particular interest in education and curriculum development.
Dr Wahab has been elected a fellow of the American Board of Radiology and the American Society of Radiation Oncology; featured on the Best Doctors in America listing; received the Honorary Members Award from the European Society for Radiotherapy and Oncology; honoured with the 2024 Global Health Catalyst Distinguished Leader Award; and named as an ASTRO Gold Medallist, among other distinctions.
