For the third consecutive year, Salman Fazal, MD, has been named a Castle Connolly Top Doctor for 2026, an honor bestowed on only 7 percent of the nation's licensed physicians. Dr. Fazal, a hematologist and stem cell transplant and cellular therapy expert at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, was recognized for his expertise in treating complex blood cancers and his commitment to compassionate care.
Dr. Fazal's practice focuses on malignant hematologic conditions such as myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), acute myeloid leukemia (AML), myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), B- and T-cell lymphomas, and multiple myeloma, particularly in high-risk, relapsed, or refractory cases. He specializes in advanced therapies including hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, cellular therapies like CAR-T, bispecific antibodies, and targeted treatments, offering options when conventional approaches fail. He currently leads the bispecific therapy program in Central Pennsylvania.
His career includes nearly a decade as Director of the Cell Transplantation Program at Allegheny Health Network, where he provided leadership for allogeneic transplant and cellular therapy programs. He took over the transplant program when survival rates were below par and led its turnaround, performing nearly 200 allogeneic transplants and achieving benchmark survival rates. He also established a long-term follow-up clinic for transplant patients with access to graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) clinical trials and oversaw successful FACT accreditation inspections for nine years.
Dr. Fazal earned his medical degree from King Edward Medical College in Pakistan, completed his internal medicine residency at Rosalind Franklin University/Chicago Medical School and Griffin Hospital, a Yale affiliate, and finished his fellowship in hematology and oncology at Allegheny General Hospital, where he served as Chief Fellow. He is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Hematology, and Medical Oncology.
A dedicated educator, Dr. Fazal was named Teaching Faculty of the Year (2018–2019) by the Hematology Oncology Fellowship at Allegheny Health Network. He has served as Assistant Professor of Medicine at Temple University and Drexel University and has been a principal investigator on numerous phase II and III clinical trials. His research has been published in leading journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Blood, and the Journal of Clinical Oncology. He was honored as an "MPN Hero" in 2025 and serves as a medical advisor and board member for the Western Pennsylvania/West Virginia Chapter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Castle Connolly Top Doctors are selected through a rigorous process involving peer nominations and physician-led research, evaluating medical education, training, hospital appointments, and disciplinary histories. Doctors cannot pay for this recognition. Dr. Fazal's repeated selection underscores his standing as a leader in hematology and his dedication to advancing cancer care.
