Today we’d like to introduce you to Waddah Arafat.
Hi Waddah, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I completed medical school in Damascus, Syria, and immigrated to the United States to complete my medical training. I completed Internal Medicine Residency at Indiana University and trained under the Testicular Cancer World expert; Dr. Larry Einhorn, and authored research paper and book chapters with him. I pursued Hematology and Oncology Fellowship Training at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and completed training at Epic Health Records Systems headquarters in Verona, Wisconsin as an Electronic Health Record Physician Builder.
In 2018, I moved to Dallas to join UT Southwestern when I serve as an Assistant Professor treating Genitourinary Cancer and serve as the institutional expert for Testicular Cancer with colleagues from across DFW reaching out to me for advice about their testicular cancer patients. I treat patients in the Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, a member of the NCCN network that is comprised of 31 elite cancer centers in the United States. I also serve the Dallas County underserved population through my practice at Parkland Health which serves as the Dallas Safety net hospital and is one of the 3 busiest county hospital systems in the nation.
Besides directly caring for my patients in clinic, I also serve as the Director of Cancer Clinical Informatics at the Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, where I advance patientcare through operational and research advancement of Electronic Health Systems, Cancer Informatics Databases, and Clinical Decision Support Tools to increase automation tools to support clinicians in their clinical work.
I volunteer in educating cancer doctors in the war-torn areas of Syria through virtual lectures in my spare time in the weekends.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It had been a very difficult road as my wife and I had to leave our families in Syria and immigrate to the United States. To complicate things, the revolution in Syria and the subsequent dictatorship atrocities against my people made it impossible for us to return to visit our hometown, and I lost my father during the war when he was assassinated by the government forces. Nonetheless, I am grateful for pursuing my career and personal dreams here and becoming a proud American Citizen, Researcher, and Physician, and being able to raise our kids in a better political environment under the rule of constitution and law.
Any big plans?
Improving the care for my cancer patients through clinical research of novel therapies that could hopefully lead to improved outcomes in the future, in addition to transitioning UTSW into a Beacon of Cancer Clinical Informatics Research with the support of the great medical informatics community at UT Southwestern.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://utswmed.org/doctors/waddah-arafat/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/WaddahArafat
