Michael Zobel, MD

Michael Zobel, MD is an Assistant Professor of Clinical Surgery and Pediatrics at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and the Keck School of Medicine of USC.

Dr. Zobel joined the faculty after completing his pediatric surgery fellowship at CHLA. He has a special interest in in surgical oncology, specifically neuroblastoma, the most common extra-cranial solid tumor of childhood. Dr. Zobel’s laboratory at in the Saban Research Institute studies the complex interaction between tumor cells and the immune system, in order to identify potential therapies for relapsed, high-risk disease. One of his current areas of study is exploring the unique histological and functional characteristics of tumors in young patients with Stage 4S disease; his hope is that understanding the favorable clinical outcomes in this population can translate into therapies for other patients. As a Pediatric Surgery Research Fellow at CHLA in 2018, he investigated novel immune-mediated neuroblastoma treatments with activated natural killer (aNK) cells, with funding from the American College of Surgeons. His other clinical interests include Wilms tumor, hepatoblastoma, sarcoma, germ cell tumor, and vascular anomalies.

Dr. Zobel completed his training in General Surgery at the University of California, San Francisco, where as Chief Resident he received the Nusz Achievement Award for his clinical work, teaching, and research accomplishments. He graduated from the Keck School of Medicine of USC as an inductee of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society, with Distinction in Research. He attended USC as an undergraduate, where he was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Honor Society, and majored in both Biological Sciences and Business Administration.

He has received multiple teaching awards, including most recently the Teaching Excellence Award for Cherished Housestaff from the UCSF School of Medicine.