Sostrin Client Spotlight - Dr. Alexandra Drakaki

Early on in her medical career, Dr. Alexandra Drakaki knew that she wanted to not only be a good clinician, but also someone who could forge a special connection with her patients.  She decided to focus her career on oncology—the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer.

Dr. Drakaki received her medical degree at the School of Medicine at the University of Crete in her home country of Greece.  After her studies in Greece, she decided to continue her medical education in the United States, because “specialty and subspecialty training in the United States has no comparison!”

In the United States, she attended Tufts University in Massachusetts’ affiliate program for Internal Medicine before completing secondary training in the field of Hematology and Oncology at Harvard Medical School.

Today, Dr. Drakaki holds several positions at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), including Assistant Professor of Medicine and Urology; Director of the Genitourinary Medical Oncology Program; and Co-Director of Research for the Genitourinary Trials Program in the Division of Hematology/Oncology and Institute of Urologic Oncology.  

“Working in the United States as an oncologist was a blessing.”  Dr. Drakaki explains: “Practicing in the oncology field here gave and is giving me endless opportunities in contributing to the field of drug development, which is the only avenue to extend the lives of those suffering from cancer.”

Dr. Drakaki has continued to conduct research and practice medicine, taking on an even larger role in patient care since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, as primary care clinicians have been serving in different hospital settings. “We as oncologists started practicing as their primary care, cancer doctor, therapist, and family.”

“I felt our role is not only to guide patients on how to protect themselves from the infection,” she states, “but how to encourage them to continue to receive treatment for their cancer that staying untreated would have been more fatal than the virus itself.  It was and is a privilege to be a doctor in this era and serve more than ever the humankind.”

Sostrin Immigration Lawyers recently assisted Dr. Drakaki in the permanent residence process.  We feel privileged to have worked with such a dedicated physician and are excited to follow her future endeavors.