MD
Assistant Professor, Hematology and Oncology
UNC-Chapel Hill
UNC Breast Center
Breast Cancer
Meet Yara Abdou
Area of Interest
Yara Abdou, MD, specializes in the treatment of early stage and metastatic breast cancer. Her research focuses on the development of novel therapies, particularly immunotherapy, to treat different subtypes of breast cancer. She works closely with basic and translational scientists to study the breast tumor microenvironment and find ways to enhance treatment approaches by utilizing the immune system. In addition, her research also focuses on racial differences in tumor biology and immune microenvironment, to better understand racial disparities and improve clinical outcomes in African American women with breast cancer.
As a clinician and a researcher, her goal is to improve treatment strategies for breast cancer while minimizing suffering and morbidity from the disease.
Awards and Honors
- Grant from the Breast Cancer Coalition of Rochester, 2020
- Conquer Cancer Foundation of ASCO – Merit Award, 2020
- JCO-ASCO’s Editorial Fellow, 2019
- AACR Associate Member Award, 2019
- ESMO Young Oncologist Merit Award, 2019
- Thomas F. Frawley, MD Research Fellowship award, 2019
- Participation in ASCO/AACR Workshop on Methods in Clinical Cancer Research, 2019
- Outstanding Research award at University of New Mexico, 2017
- Dean’s list awards, 2008-2012
- Top Academic Achiever at the Annual Honors Convocation, 2006-2008
News and Stories

UNC Lineberger research featured at American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting
UNC Lineberger members and trainees will present cancer research findings at the 2023 American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting in Chicago, June 2-6.

American Association for Cancer Research’s annual meeting to feature UNC Lineberger experts, research
UNC Lineberger faculty and trainees will be presenting their research findings and sharing their insights at education sessions during the American Association for Cancer Research’s annual meeting April 14-19.

Black women with breast cancer may have worse outcomes than peers despite similar genetic recurrence scores
Yara Abdou, MD, lead author of the study, presented findings at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

UNC Lineberger researchers present findings at San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium
UNC Lineberger researchers and colleagues will be presenting the latest findings from basic, translational and clinical studies at the 45th annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.