Shahla Bari, MD

About

Shahla Bari, MD, is a physician-scientist and genitourinary medical oncologist at University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center, specializing in kidney, prostate and bladder cancers. She joined Seidman in late 2025 with a clear mission: to deliver truly personalized cancer care by directly integrating cutting-edge research into every treatment decision. Offering patients and families more than standard oncology care, her practice provides therapy informed by the scientific advances shaping the future of cancer treatment.

Dr. Bari’s clinical and research focus is precision oncology, with particular expertise in understanding why therapies work exceptionally well for some patients and not for others. Her research investigates the gut microbiome and its metabolic products as key regulators of immune responses to cancer therapy. By integrating microbial metabolomics, immunology, advanced analytics and clinical outcomes, she aims to identify biomarkers that predict which treatment is most likely to benefit each individual patient, how responses can be strengthened and how durability of response can be extended. This work moves oncology beyond one-size-fits-all approaches toward care that is deliberately and intelligently personalized.

Patients choose Dr. Bari because they value care that is both deeply individualized and firmly grounded in science. At UH Seidman Cancer Center, she offers the advantages of an academic cancer center where discovery and clinical care are seamlessly connected, combined with the personal attention and continuity that are essential during complex cancer journeys.

Dr. Bari earned her medical degree from Patna Medical College in 2010 and completed extensive postgraduate training in the United States, including an internship at the University of South Florida School of Medicine, residency in internal medicine at Morehouse School of Medicine, and fellowship training in hematology and medical oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center. Her background is further strengthened by formal training in translational research and in machine and deep learning, equipping her to apply advanced computational approaches to biomarker discovery and precision oncology research — an expertise that increasingly informs how cancer therapies are developed and personalized.

She previously served as an Assistant Professor of Oncology and physician-scientist at Duke University, where she built a nationally visible research program in immuno-oncology and microbiome science before joining UH Seidman Cancer Center. Over the course of her career, patients have traveled long distances to seek her care, including individuals who journeyed 200 to 300 miles to be treated under her direction at Duke, reflecting a recognition that truly personalized, research-driven oncology is worth the long trip.

At UH Seidman Cancer Center, Dr. Bari is helping build nationally competitive clinical trial programs in kidney, bladder and prostate cancer that are informed by disease biology rather than population averages. These trials are designed not only to evaluate new therapies, but to refine how treatments are matched to individual patients, accelerating the translation of discovery into meaningful clinical benefit and contributing to the next generation of precision cancer therapies.

Dr. Bari’s vision resonates with patients and families who seek care at the highest level and who value innovation and impact. Her work reflects a belief that the future of cancer care will be defined by physicians who unite scientific discovery with clinical excellence. For individuals with kidney, bladder or prostate cancer seeking destination-level care — where cutting-edge science, personalized treatment and thoughtful partnership converge — Dr. Shahla Bari at UH Seidman Cancer Center represents a clear and compelling choice.