BiliaryTractCancer near Middletown, NY

Biography: Benjamin Izar, MD, PhD is an assistant professor of medicine at the Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons in the division of Hematology/Oncology and a member of the Tumor Biology and Microenvironment Program at the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr. Izar's clinical practice focuses on melanoma and cancer immunotherapy. In his lab, Dr. Izar studies interactions between cancer cells and cells of the tumor-microenvironment, and how these define metastatic niches, response and resistance to cancer immunotherapies. His lab develops and uses cutting-edge single-cell genomics and genome-editing tools to study patient tumors and models at unprecedented resolution Dr. Izar received his MD/PhD at Justus Liebig University in Giessen, Germany, where he was graduated summa cum laude. He completed his internal medicine residency training at Massachusetts General Hospital and medical oncology training at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, followed by his first faculty position at Danna-Farber Cancer Institute. He completed post-doctoral research training in cancer immunology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard. In addition to several awards he received during his training, Dr. Izar is the recipient of multiple national awards, including a NIH/NCI K08 Award (2017) and the prestigious Burroughs Welcome Fund Career Award for Medical Scientists (2018), and he was selected as a NextGen Star of the American Association for Cancer Research (2019). In 2020, he was selected as a Louis V. Gerstner, Jr. Scholar and a Velocity Fellow by Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Izar is a member of the American Association for Cancer Research, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer, and the Society for Melanoma Research.

Biography: Dr. Stergios Zacharoulis, MD is an Oncology Specialist who practices in New York, NY. He is 55 years old and has been practicing for 30 years. Dr. Stergios Zacharoulis, MD is affiliated with Newyork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center and Newyork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital.

Biography: Mariam El-Ashmawy, MD PhD is a medical oncologist andtranslational scientist with specialization in the treatment of advanced skincancer and ocular melanoma. Her research investigates the complex geneticlandscape of cancer in order to develop new therapies. In the laboratory, her work has been dedicated to understanding the complex genomic landscape of cancer and developing novel targeted therapeutic strategies. Her ongoing projects include testing novel RAS pathway inhibitors in preclinical models of gastric and esophageal cancer as well as a first-in-human clinical trials for patients with NRAS mutant melanoma.

Care Philosophy: We are committed to delivering the best care and an exceptional patient experience We are devoted to providing services that are patient centered and compassionate and care for you as a person nbsp;

Biography: Dr. Timothy Wang is a leading expert in gastroenterology cancer research and patient care. His research specifically focuses on transgenic/ knockout mice, stem cells, lineage tracing, bone marrow-derived cells, and FACS analysis of immune/epithelial cells in the gut. His laboratory has for decades investigated the molecular mechanisms of gastrointestinal carcinogenesis, and has been continuously funded by the NIH for 29 years and by the NCI for 14 years. His lab has worked for many years on the role of inflammation in promoting gastrointestinal neoplasia, including colon cancer. His research has defined key roles for stromal cells in tumor development, including myeloid cells. Dr. Wang is the GI Division Chief at Columbia and serves as Co-leader of the Tumor Biology and Microenvironment Program of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center. He also serves as director of the Columbia University NCI U54 Tumor Microenvironment (TMEN) program and directs the Barretts Esophageal Translational Research Network (BETRNet) program and the Intestinal Stem Cell Consortium (ISCC) at Columbia. In addition to his leadership at Columbia, Dr. Wang has served as President of the American Gastroenterology Association (AGA). His work has been recognized with numerous awards, including the Outstanding Investigator Award from the NCI, the Irene and Arthur Fishberg Prize for medical research, the Ruth Leff Siegel Award for pancreatic cancer research, and the William Beaumont Prize in Gastroenterology from the AGA. Over his career, he has organized numerous conferences, including conferences on Gastrin, Regulatory Peptides, AACR Symposium on Gastric Cancer, Tumor Microenvironment, and Keystone Conferences.

Biography: James H. Garvin, MD, PhD, is a board-certified pediatric hematologist-oncologist who specializes in the care of children and adolescents with brain tumors. He is Principal Investigator at CUMC for the Head Start Program of radiation-sparing intensive chemotherapy for infants and young children with brain tumors. He was principal investigator for a Children's Oncolgy Group protocol for childhood ependymoma. He also offers novel therapies for recurrent brain tumors through our program's membership in Developmental Therapeutics Program of the COG. In addition, Dr. Garvin started the pediatric bone marrow transplant program, and continues as a member of the BMT group. He has particular interest in autologous transplant for brain tumors and allogeneic transplant for metabolic disorders and bone marrow failure syndromes, as well as supportive care for BMT patients. Dr. Garvin became interested in pediatric hematology/oncology through research during medical school in the laboratory of a pediatric hematologist. He is a member of numerous professional societies in the field.

Biography: Dr. Sathe completed her Residency in Internal Medicine at NYP/Weill Cornell and is a graduate of Rutgers-New Jersey Medical School. She also holds a JD from Columbia Law School. Her research focuses on improving cancer care delivery and reducing disparities in treatment and outcomes.

Biography: Dr. Lentzsch is a Professor of Clinical Medicine and the Director of the Multiple Myeloma and Amyloidosis Program at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University and at New York Presbyterian Hospital in New York. She is at New York Presbyterian Hospital/ Columbia University Medical Center. After receiving her degrees from the Humboldt University/ Charit Berlin, Germany, she completed her residency and fellowship at Humboldt University. She did a research fellowship, studying the mechanism of action of thalidomide and its derivatives in multiple myeloma, in the Jerome Lipper Multiple Myeloma Center under the mentorship of Dr Kenneth Anderson at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA. Dr. Lentzsch was recruited in August 2004 to the University of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute (UPCI), PA, USA, and served as Clinical Director of the Multiple Myeloma Program at UPCI before accepting the position as Director of the Multiple Myeloma and Amyloidosis Program at Columbia University Medical Center. She cares primarily for patients with plasma cell dyscrasia including MGUS, Multiple Myeloma, Amyloidosis, POEMS and Waldenstrom's Macroglobulinemia. Dr. Lentzsch is an internationally recognized expert in the field of Multiple Myeloma and Amyloidosis. She serves as a SWOG Myeloma Committee Member, SWOG Study Coordinator and International Myeloma Foundation "Black Swan Research Initiative" committee member. She is a member of the standing advisory board for the evaluation of Secondary Primary Malignancies associated with IMiDs.

Biography: Dr. Henick is a medical oncologist specializing in the care of patients with malignancies of the aerodigestive tract.As the Associate Director of Experimental Therapeutics and Director of Translational Research in Aerodigestive Cancers in Medical Oncology, Dr. Henick's clinical care and research are aligned to improve the effectiveness of, and limit toxicity from, emerging cancer treatments. These effortsentail clinical trials that Dr. Henick has written and leads to study novel therapeutic approaches and to reduce steroid dependence among patients experiencing adverse events fromimmunotherapy.

Biography: Dr. Andrew H. Lipsky is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Columbia University Medical Center. He specializes in caring for adult patients with hematologic malignancies, including chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and lymphoma.Dr. Lipsky's research focuses on cancer genomics and new treatments for CLL. He has a special interest in using the latest bioinformatics techniques to study how cancer cells change and adapt during treatment. Utilizing these genomic insights, he hopes to better inform clinical trials and hasten the development of innovative therapies for patients with hematologic malignancies.Dr. Lipsky earned his medical degree from Rutgers - Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He completed internship and residency in internal medicine at Montefiore - Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He completed fellowship training in Hematology and Medical Oncology at New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical College, with an additional sub-fellowship in the clinical care of CLL and lymphoma. He also completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in lymphoma genomics and bioinformatics as part of the Molecular and Translation Oncology Research (MTOR) training program.

Biography: Neil Vasan, MD, PhD, is a physician-scientist in the Department of Medicine and the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. The Vasan Lab uses functional genomics to understand how oncoproteins regulate breast cancer cell signaling, growth, and therapeutic response. Dr. Vasan received his AB/AM from Harvard University and MD/PhD from Yale University School of Medicine, and completed clinical training in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and in medical oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. As a postdoctoral fellow, he identified doublePIK3CAmutations as an oncogenic alteration, which has gone from bench to bedside as a cancer genomic biomarker. His research awards include the NIH K08, Susan G. Komen Career Catalyst Research grant, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) NextGen Star, andAmerican Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI)Young Physician-Scientist Award.Dr. Vasan is an active clinical oncologist treating patients with breast cancerand serves as a standing member of the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) for the FDA.

Biography: Dr. Hua-Jay "Jeff" Cherng is an assistant professor of medicine in the lymphoma program in the Division of Hematology and Oncology. He earned his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University and completed internal medicine residency at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. He subsequently trained at MD Anderson Cancer Center for his hematology and oncology fellowship. He is board certified in Internal Medicine, Hematology and Medical Oncology. Dr. Cherng is a clinical investigator who researches non-invasive response assessment tools such as biomarkers and imaging to predict outcomes of lymphoma patients. His focus is on circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), fragments of genetic material shed by lymphomas that can be sequenced and tracked to measure molecular response and minimal residual disease. His work on ctDNA and PET scans in lymphoma has led to publications in high-impact journals including Blood, Blood Advances, American Journal of Hematology, and British Journal of Haematology. He has earned abstract merit awards from the American Society of Hematology, American Society of Clinical Oncology, and Pan Pacific Lymphoma Conference. His accomplishments during fellowship earned him a Waun Ki Hong Award for Achievement in Clinical Investigation. His research on ctDNA in patients with relapsed lymphoma receiving chimeric antigen receptor T-cell therapy is funded by a Conquer Cancer Young Investigator Award grant. He is a member of Southwestern Oncology Group Lymphoma Working Group and Committee. He was selected to participate in the Academy of Next Wave of Investigators for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and the American Society of Hematology Clinical Research Training Institute, competitive programs aimed at supporting academic and career development for promising clinical researchers. Dr. Cherng's goal is to design clinical trials with treatment guided by ctDNA; this would allow for treatment de-escalation in good responders to minimize toxicity and escalation in poor responders to maximize chance for durable remissions. Dr. Cherng sees patients with all types of lymphoma with an emphasis on aggressive non-Hodgkin B-cell lymphomas. He treats patients with standard-of-care treatments as well as on clinical trial protocols.

Biography: As an Assistant Professor of Medicine within the Division of Hematology/Oncology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC), Dr. McGuinness specializes in the care of patients with breast cancer or who are at high risk of developing breast cancer. She is currently involved in patient care, clinical research, and education. Her research interests include the evaluation of novel imaging-based tools to refine breast cancer risk prediction and to predict which patients receive benefit from breast cancer therapies. As part of this work, she collaborates closely with computer scientists, data scientists, and breast radiologists at Columbia. She also serves as the principal investigator for multiple clinical trials at CUIMC that evaluate novel treatments for patients with breast cancer. She is actively involved in the SWOG Cancer Research Network, and serves as a member of the SWOG Prevention and Epidemiology and Breast Committees, as well as the SWOG Breast Translational Medicine Working Group. Dr. McGuinness received her bachelor of arts in Biology magna cum laude from Williams College, and her medical degree with Honor from Baylor College of Medicine, where she was elected to the Gold Humanism Honor Society. She completed both her Internal Medicine residency and Hematology/Oncology fellowship at Columbia University Irving Medical Center, during which she also served as Chief Fellow and completed a Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biomedical Informatics. Dr. McGuinness is the recipient of multiple career development awards from the Conquer Cancer Foundation/American Society of Clinical Oncology and the Susan G. Komen Foundation, as well as a TRANSFORM KL2 Mentored Career Development Award.

Biography: Dr. Francisco Guzman-Pruneda is an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Columbia University Medical Center. He is Board Certified in Surgery by the American Board of Surgery. He completed his Medical School training in Monterrey, Mexico, his residency in General Surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital and The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and a fellowship in Bariatric Surgery at Mount Sinai in New York City. In addition, Dr. Guzman-Pruneda completed two research fellowships: in Immunology at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer and in Pediatric Surgery at Texas Children's Hospital (Baylor College of Medicine), and a Global Surgery Exchange Program in Sydney, Australia. Dr. Guzman's clinical specialties include both laparoscopic and robotic approaches in general and bariatric surgery.

Care Philosophy: We are committed to delivering the best care and an exceptional patient experience We are devoted to providing services that are patient centered and compassionate and care for you as a person nbsp;

Biography: Dr. Peter Liou is an Assistant Professor of Surgery at Columbia University and an Attending Transplant Surgeon at New York Presbyterian Hospital. He is board-certified in general surgery and received specialty training in abdominal transplant and hepatobiliary surgery. His practice interests focus on the surgical management of adults and children with liver and bile duct disease including those with liver failure, cirrhosis, bile duct and gallbladder disease, as well as those with benign and malignant liver tumors and cysts. He is skilled in minimally invasive surgery and trained to perform both laparoscopic and robotic surgery whenever possible. Dr. Liou received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Biochemistry and Music from Columbia College, and subsequently attended medical school at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. He was the recipient of a Doris Duke Translational Research Grant under the mentorship of Dr. Jessica Kandel. Dr. Liou then completed his general surgical residency at New York Presbyterian / Columbia, while receiving additional clinical training in Intestinal/Multivisceral transplant and Adult ECMO with Drs. Tomoaki Kato and Matthew Bacchetta during that time. He then continued with a surgical fellowship in Abdominal Organ Transplantation and Hepatobiliary Surgery at New York Presbyterian Columbia and Weill Cornell. Committed to providing compassionate and the latest comprehensive care, Dr. Liou routinely collaborates with an elite team of world-class providers in liver disease to achieve optimal outcomes and treatment success. He is also interested in international medicine, having participated in surgical outreaches and exchanges in China, Kenya, Swaziland, and Tanzania.

Biography: Dr.Farhad Arjomand is a dedicated Pulmonary, Sleep and Critical Care Medicine physician with 20 years of experience in a variety of pulmonary medicine settings. He is board certified in Pulmonary, Sleep and Critical Care Medicine. He is committed to provide excellent care to the patients. He listens to the patients' concerns and spends enough time with every patient. He worked for many years in teaching hospitals and recently joined New York Presbyterian Medical Group Westchester. He is affiliated with New York-Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital and New York -Presbyterian Columbia University.