Poorva Vaidya
Biography
Poorva Vaidya, MD, is an HS Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, Step II, in the Division of Hematology/Oncology at UC Irvine Health. She received her MD from Georgetown University School of Medicine in 2017 and completed her internal medicine residency at the University of Southern California/Los Angeles County Medical Center, where she served as Chief Resident from 2020 to 2021. She completed her Hematology/Oncology fellowship at UC San Diego Health in 2024, serving as Chief Fellow during her final year.
Vaidya's clinical and research focus centers on cutaneous oncology, particularly melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers. Her research has examined outcomes of immunotherapy in advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, the incidence of secondary cutaneous malignancies in solid organ transplant recipients, and molecular profiles of c-Kit mutated melanoma and Merkel Cell Carcinoma through collaboration with Caris Life Sciences Precision Oncology Alliance. She has also contributed to quality improvement initiatives, including a study of UC San Diego's Suspicion of Cancer Center to expedite cancer diagnosis and treatment.
Vaidya serves on multiple committees at UC Irvine Health, including the Ambulatory Quality and Safety Oversight Committee and the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center's Systems, Pathways and Targets Committee. She is a member of the UC Melanoma and Skin Cancer Consortium and Southwest Oncology Group Melanoma committee. She serves as a sub-investigator on numerous clinical trials and is currently participating in the Cancer Clinical Trials Bootcamp at the Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center to develop skills in designing investigator-initiated cancer clinical trial protocols.
Return to topEducation
- BS in Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology; Minor in Society and Genetics, University of California, Los Angeles, 2013
- MD, Georgetown University School of Medicine, 2017
Distinctions
- Chancellor's Service Award, UCLA, 2013
- 1st Place Poster Winner, UCSD Patient Safety and Quality Improvement Symposium, 2022
- Dean's Prize for Outstanding Research, UCLA Science Poster Day, 2013
- W. Proctor Harvey Award for Excellence in Physical Diagnosis, GUSOM, 2017
- Health Justice Scholars Track, GUSOM, 2017
- Excellence in Primary Care Award, LAC + USC Continuity Care Clinic, 2017
- Summa Cum Laude Latin Honors, 2013
- Phi Beta Kappa, 2013
Areas of Expertise
- Cutaneous Oncology
- Immunotherapy in Solid Tumors
- Vitamin D Antimicrobial Pathways
- Transplant Recipient Malignancies
- Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy Approaches
- Molecular Profiling Melanoma
- Quality Improvement Cancer Diagnosis
Recent Publications
- Vaidya P., Wu S., Bryant D., Perry C.J., Prakash V., Lou E., Guo T., Brownell I., Darabi S., Gao L., Abdulla F., Park S.J., “Molecular Characterization of Polyomavirus-Positive and Negative Merkel Cell Carcinoma” (opens in new tab), Cancers, vol. 17, 2025.
- Vaidya P, Wang H, Don MD, Hinds BR, Mangan JK, “IDH2-mutated near ETP-ALL with aggressive leukemia cutis and brisk response to venetoclax and decitabine” (opens in new tab), Leukemia Research Reports, vol. 21, 2024.
- Vaidya P, Cohen EEW, “Facts and Hopes in Neoadjuvant Immunotherapy: Current Approvals and Emerging Evidence” (opens in new tab), Clinical Cancer Research, vol. 30, pp. 1232-1239, 2023.
- In GK, Vaidya P, Filkins A, Hermel DJ, King KG, Ragab O, Tseng WW, Swanson M, Kokot N, Lang JE, Menendez L, DeClerck B, Kim G, Hu JC, Terando A, Jadvar H, Ricker C, Miller KA, Peng DH, Wysong A, “PD-1 inhibition therapy for advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma: a retrospective analysis from the University of Southern California” (opens in new tab), Journal of Cancer Research and Clinical Oncology, vol. 147, no. 6, pp. 1803-1811, 2021.
- Hasnain Z, Nilanon T, Li M, Mejia A, Kolatkar A, Nocera L, Shahabi C, Cozzens Philips FA, Lee JSH, Hanlon SE, Vaidya P, Ueno NT, Yennu S, Newton PK, Kuhn P, Nieva J, “Quantified Kinematics to Evaluate Patient Chemotherapy Risks in Clinic” (opens in new tab), JCO Clinical Cancer Informatics, vol. 4, pp. 583-601, 2020.
- Vaidya P, Mehta A, Ragab O, Lin S, In GK, “Concurrent radiation therapy with programmed cell death protein 1 inhibition leads to a complete response in advanced cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma” (opens in new tab), Jaad Case Reports, vol. 5, no. 9, pp. 763-766, 2019.
- Vaidya P, Khedro T, Yaghmour B, Yaghmour G, “Midostaurin-Related Interstitial Lung Injury in FLT3+ Acute Myeloid Leukemia Post-Allogeneic Transplant” (opens in new tab), World J Oncol, vol. 10, no. 6, pp. 237-239, 2019.
- Hagiya A, Vaidya P, Khedro T, Yaghmour B, Siddiqi I, Yaghmour G, “Bone Marrow Features in Patients With Acute Myeloid Leukemia Treated With Novel Targeted Isocitrate Dehydrogenase 1/2 Inhibitors” (opens in new tab), World J Oncol, vol. 10, no. 6, pp. 226-230, 2019.
- Montoya D, Inkeles MS, Liu PT, Realegeno S, Teles RM, Vaidya P, Munoz MA, Schenk M, Swindell WR, Chun R, Zavala K, Hewison M, Adams JS, Horvath S, Pellegrini M, Bloom BR, Modlin RL, “IL-32 is a molecular marker of a host defense network in human tuberculosis” (opens in new tab), Sci Transl Med, vol. 6, no. 250, pp. 250ra114, 2014.
This profile was created with the help of AI.
Last updated on 3/31/2026.