Elias Sayour, MD, PhD, is the Stop Children's Cancer/Bonnie R. Freeman Professor for Pediatric Oncology Research in the UF departments of neurosurgery and pediatrics at the University of Florida. He is also a principal investigator of the ribonucleic acid engineering laboratory at the Preston A. Wells, Jr. Center for Brain Tumor Therapy. He received his bachelor’s degree from Fordham University, his medical degree from the University of Buffalo and his doctorate from Duke University.

He completed his residency in pediatrics at Cohen’s Children’s Medical Center in New York and his fellowship at Duke University Medical Center. During his fellowship training, he completed a two-year National Institutes of Health research fellowship in cancer biology and developmental therapeutics. His primary research focus is developing tumor RNA loaded nanocarriers to re-direct host immunity against pediatric brain tumors.

Dr. Sayour is an NIH-funded investigator focused on on developing new nanotech vaccines to reprogram the immune system against cancer cells. He is investigating the use of personalized nanoparticles small enough to deliver essential information to the immune system educating it reject pediatric cancer. Currently his group is investigating the safety and efficacy of this novel vaccine formulation in canines with malignant brain tumors before translation into dedicated human studies.

Dr. Sayour’s work has been nationally recognized by the American Society of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology, National Institutes of Health, and U.S. Department of Defense. He has been the recipient of the Hyundai Hope on Wheels Hope Award, St. Baldrick’s Scholar Award, and the American Brain Tumor Association Discovery Award.

Dr. Sayour is board-certified in general pediatrics and pediatric hematology-oncology.

He has presented his work at several national meetings and is a member of the Children’s Oncology Group, Society of Neuro-Oncology and the American Society of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology.