Program Director, Youth & Family Cancer Prevention Program, MD Anderson Cancer Center
Dr. Ashish Arya was born in India where his desire to practice medicine and love for community health began. Dr. Arya graduated in 1995 from The University of Calcutta, R. G. Kar Medical College with an M.B.B.S degree (equivalent to an MD) and completed his training/fellowship with J L N Hospital in Medicine, TB & Chest Diseases. Dr. Arya then moved to the United States and completed his Masters in Healthcare Administration from Houston Baptist University and accepted a position with Texas Children’s Hospital working with children with special needs. He has since held various teaching, research and project leadership positions with the Houston Methodist Hospital, Texas Southern University, Memorial Bone & Joint, and UTHealth Houston. In 2016, he accepted a position with M.D. Anderson Cancer Center as the Program Director of Youth and Family Cancer Prevention Program in the Behavioral Science department. Dr. Arya manages multiple research and cancer control projects including the ASPIRE program. He works closely with Dr. Prokhorov for research and dissemination strategies among youth and young adults. He has co-authored manuscripts, poster presentations, and presented on multiple platforms on youth tobacco prevention and young adult prevention and cessation strategies.
Dr. Arya is a loving family man with a wife and two daughters. He enjoys providing guidance to youth for career direction in the healthcare field. He’s passionate about information technology and how it is now affecting the youth of today via social media as well as electronic products.