Dr. med. Cyrus Khandanpour

On July 21, our MBA IHM Alumni PD Dr. med. Cyrus Khandanpour completed his habilitation with a public talk entitled „Akute myeloische Leukämie“ at Essen University Hospital. Dr. med. Cyrus Khandanpour, who graduated with an MBA in International Healthcare Management in May 2017,  and is a specialist in hematology, medical oncology and palliative care at Essen University Hospital (AöR).

Dr. med. Cyrus Khandanpour’s group studies the function of different transcription factors in the process of leukemia development and progression.

Tell me about your professional background?

I started my training in internal medicine 2003 and stopped my residency to work as Post-Doc at the IRCM in Monteral/Canada 2006. I went back to continue my residency in hematology/oncology 2011 and finished my training in 2015. Since 2015 I am board certified heamtologist/oncologist. When I came back to Germany, I also started building up my own research group with emphasis on finding new therapeuitic approaches in leukemia. My group is supported by the German Cancer fund, the Jose Carreras, Werner Jackstädt. Fritz-Thyssen foundation

When did you decide to specialise? What influenced you to do research on leukemia?

At the end of my studies I decided to work in hematology as there is always a direct connection between research and clincial work, something you describe from bench to bedside and back.

You still work as a GP, how much of your time does this occupy? When do you have time for research and how would you describe your daily routine?

I spend around 80% of my time on clinical work and 20% on taking care of my team who do the actual research work. I take care of the patients throughout the morning and early afternoon. At around 15.00 I usually have time to go the lab and discuss potential difficulties and new results with my team.

How do you work with colleagues who are located in different countries, in your case, Canada?

You meet these people either during conferences or you have extensive e-mail correspondence or sometimes telephone conferences.

You have always been dedicated to research. What influenced you to do an MBA in Healthcare Management?

My goal is to take over responsibility for a department or possibly later for a whole research institute or hospital and be more involved in strategic decisions.  For such steps, an MBA in Healthcare management is ideal to prepare for such decisions.

How does your new qualification compliment your scientific qualifications?

As detailed above, it will enable me to take on more responsibilities within larger hospital units and to plan for procedures and processes within institutes or hospitals in 5 – 10 years time.