Jaffer Ajani is a Professor of Medicine at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. He received his MD from the Government Medical College, Nagpur, India, in 1971. He is interested in upper gastrointestinal cancer research and focuses on combined modality trials for gastric and esophageal cancers. He has led numerous phase II and III randomized trials and has participated in Cooperative Groups. He currently chairs the NCCN committee for gastroesophageal cancers and has participated actively in the International Society of Gastrointestinal Oncology. His research interests include gastrointestinal cancer, esophageal cancer, gastric cancer, and neuroendocrine tumors. He has received a number of NCI and DOD grants since 2007.