Nizar Tannir, MD

Biography

Nizar M. Tannir, MD, FACP, is a Professor in the Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center where he holds the Endowed Ransom Horne, Jr. Professorship in Cancer Research. Dr. Tannir is nationally and internationally renowned for his expertise in kidney cancer. He is a clinical investigator with expertise in novel trial design, and has conducted numerous clinical trials in clear-cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC) and variant histology RCC. He is an expert on several rare kidney cancers, including translocation RCC (tRCC) and renal medullary carcinoma (RMC). He chairs a think-tank on RMC, and has brought together world experts from different fields to accelerate discovery and novel therapeutics for this devastating orphan cancer. Dr. Tannir has authored more than 320 original manuscripts and several book chapters. He edited Renal Cell Carcinoma, a book which was published by Oxford University Press in 2014, and Rare Kidney Tumors/A Multidisciplinary Approach, a book which was published by Springer in 2019. Dr. Tannir’s translational research is focused on deciphering the molecular underpinnings of RMC and tRCC and other rare RCC types such as collecting duct carcinoma. He has served as steering committee chair and global principal investigator of several industry sponsored trials. Dr. Tannir is Emeritus Member of the medical steering committee of the Kidney Cancer Association. Dr. Tannir was voted Teacher of The Year six times by the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Hematology-Oncology fellows. He also received numerous awards including the 2013 University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Division of Cancer Medicine Gerald P. Bodey Award for Excellence in Education, the 2014 University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Division of Cancer Medicine Waun Ki Hong Award for Leadership in Education, the 2014 University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Division of Cancer Medicine Melvin L. Samuels Award for Excellence in Patient Care, the 2016 University of Texas Cancer Foundation Faculty Achievement Award in Patient Care, the 2020 University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center  Distinguished Clinical Faculty Mentor Award, and the 2021 University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Division of Cancer Medicine John Mendelsohn Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2017, Dr. Tannir received the Eugene P. Schonfeld Award from the Kidney Cancer Association for his research on rare kidney tumors and in 2023, he received the Nicholas J. Vogelzang Humanitarian Award also from the Kidney Cancer Association. Dr. Tannir has mentored over 45 fellows and junior faculty, many of whom have joined academic centers in the US and the rest of the world.