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Dr. Brian Chernak

Brian Chernak, MD

Leukemia Specialist

4.9 | 88 reviews

Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN)/Myeloproliferative disorders
  • Systemic mastocytosis
  • Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS)
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Dr. Chernak's Office Information
Languages: English
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Get to Know Me

I am a hematologist-oncologist who specializes in caring for patients with chronic blood cancers, including:

I see patients at the David H. Koch Center for Cancer Care at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth in New Jersey.

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I am committed to providing personalized care to each patient so that we can improve their quality of life as well as provide the latest treatments to slow the progression of these diseases.

As an active translational researcher, I focus on exploring new treatments for these diseases as well as studying the bone marrow microenvironment as a potential target for new therapies. 

What I Do at MSK

A leukemia specialist is a doctor with special training in diagnosing and treating leukemia.

  • Assistant Attending Physician
Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPN)/Myeloproliferative disorders
  • Systemic mastocytosis
  • Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS)
  • Leukemia
  • Blood, bone marrow, and hematologic cancers and conditions
Education & Honors

Education

  • MD, SUNY Downstate College of Medicine

Residencies

  • Internal Medicine, NewYork-Presbyterian Weill Cornell Medical Center

Fellowships

  • Hematology/Oncology, Columbia University Medical Center

Board Certifications

  • Hematology
  • Medical Oncology
  • Internal Medicine

Awards and Honors

  • Research Training Award for Fellows, American Society of Hematology (2024)
  • Conquer Cancer Young Investigator Award, American Society of Clinical Oncology (2023)
  • Abstract Achievement Award, American Society of Hematology (2020)
  • Merck Award for Academic Excellence, SUNY Downstate College of Medicine (2018)
  • Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society, SUNY Downstate College of Medicine (2017)

Insurance Information

Understanding your insurance options is an important part of managing your cancer care. We have relationships with many common healthcare providers and plans.

Aetna

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS, Transplant

Aetna Medicare Advantage (MTA and NYC retirees only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Anthem BCBS and other BCBS licensee plans

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

See updates

Anthem BCBS Health Plus

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

See updates

Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

See updates

Blue Cross Blue Shield states outside of NY/NJ

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS

See updates

Carrum Health

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

Cigna

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Connecticare

In Network Coverage Type
POS, EPO, HMO

First Health

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

Straight NJ Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Straight NY Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Emblem

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Emblem to learn more.

Emblem Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Emblem Medicare Advantage (Medicare Choice PPO Network and VIP Prime Network Only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

Empire Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Empire Plan / NYSHIP (Blue Cross/UnitedHealthcare split plan)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

See updates

Fidelis

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Fidelis to learn more.

Fidelis Managed Medicaid & HARP

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Fidelis Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Healthfirst

In Network Coverage Type
EPO, HMO, PPO, POS

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Healthfirst to learn more.

Healthfirst Managed Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

Healthfirst Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

Healthsmart

In Network Coverage Type
PPO EPO

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (HMO)

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (PPO)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier I (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

See updates

Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier II (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

See updates

Horizon Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

Husky CT Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Magnacare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO

Medicare Part A&B (traditional Medicare)

In Network Coverage Type
Federal Government

Metroplus

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

City Employee Health Plans (Gold and Gold Care)

Multiplan/Beech Street/PHCS

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

MVP

In Network Coverage Type
PPO/OAP

Non-Participating Plans with Out of Network Benefits

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

NYC Medicare Advantage Plus for City Employees

In Network Coverage Type
TBD

Oscar

In Network Coverage Type
HMO/EPO

Oxford

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, EPO

World Trade Center Health Program (WTC)

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

Qualcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Tricare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

UMR

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS

United Healthcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

Don't see your carrier or plan? We can help you understand your coverage.

If you don't have health insurance or are worried that your care may not be fully covered, our financial assistance programs may be able to help.

If you have questions about insurance, call us at 646-497-9176.

Make an Appointment

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New Patients
Scheduling an appointment is easy. Click or call 800-525-2225— we’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Make an Appointment
Current Patients
Request an appointment by logging in to MSK MyChart or calling your Care Team. If you are not enrolled in MSK MyChart, ask your Care Team to send you an invitation. You can also go to MSK MyChart and select “Sign up now.”

Contact and Location

Dr. Chernak sees patients at two locations.

Office Phone
Location
New York, NY
Middletown, NJ
David H. Koch Center for Cancer Care at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
530 East 74th Street New York NY 10021
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Memorial Sloan Kettering Monmouth
480 Red Hill Road Middletown NJ 07748
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Colleagues

Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering work as teams, with specialists from all different areas. This allows us to consider all your needs together, and to give you the best possible care.

See all Leukemia Service doctors

Clinical Trials

Smiling doctors in the lab
Find a Clinical Trial for You

Memorial Sloan Kettering's doctors and scientists are constantly developing new treatments for cancer. MSK is typically running hundreds of clinical trials at a given time.

You may be able to participate in a clinical trial even if you are new to MSK. Search our online directory to find trial information and see more about who can participate.

Search clinical trials

Research and Publications

Trivanović D, Vujačić M, Labella R, Djordjevic IO, Cazic M, Chernak B, Jaukovic A. Molecular Deconvolution of Bone Marrow Adipose Tissue Interactions with Malignant Hematopoiesis: Potential for New Therapy Development. Curr Osteoporos Rep. Jun 26 2024;doi:10.1007/s11914-024-00879-x

Chernak BJ, Rampal RK. Extramedullary hematopoiesis in myeloproliferative neoplasms: Pathophysiology and treatment strategies. Int Rev Cell Mol Biol. 2021;365:97-116. doi:10.1016/bs.ircmb.2021.07.002

Chernak BJ, Sen F, Farnoud N, Ayache JB, Zhang Y, DeWolf S, Rampal RK. Atypical Presentation of Erythroid/Megakaryocytic Leukemic Transformation of a Myeloproliferative Neoplasm Associated with Mutation and Loss of TP53. Hemasphere. Aug 2020;4(4):e411. doi:10.1097/HS9.0000000000000411

Rosencrans WM, Walsh ZH, Houerbi N, Blum A, Belew M, Liu C, Chernak B, Brauer PR, Trazo A, Olson A, Hagos E. Cells deficient for Krüppel-like factor 4 exhibit mitochondrial dysfunction and impaired mitophagy. Eur J Cell Biol. Jan 2020;99(1):151061. doi:10.1016/j.ejcb.2019.151061

Ali AM, Huang Y, Pinheiro RF, Xue F, Hu J, Iverson N, Hoehn D, Coutinho D, Kayani J, Chernak B, Lane J, Hillyer C, Galili N, Jurcic J, Mohanda N, An X, Raza A. Severely impaired terminal erythroid differentiation as an independent prognostic marker in myelodysplastic syndromes. Blood Adv. Jun 26 2018;2(12):1393-1402. doi:10.1182/bloodadvances.2018018440

Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Chernak’s journal articles. Pubmed is an online index of research papers and other articles from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

See all on PubMed

Patient Reviews

Your trust is our main concern

We strive to keep reviews trustworthy, honest and fair. Learn more about our patient experience reviews.

4.9 88 reviews

  • 4.8 Provider's Explanations Easy to Understand
  • 4.9 Trusts Provider with Care
  • 4.9 Provider Listened Carefully
  • 4.9 Likelihood of Recommending Provider
Mar 25, 2025

Dr. Chernak spent a lot of time explaining my condition. Sometimes it was to much information thrown at me. My daughter who was with me was happy that he explained everything the way that he did.

Mar 25, 2025

I would love to be scheduled to see Dr. Chernak for all my follow ups instead of seeing the PA. I felt very comfortable with him & felt that he listened to me

Mar 21, 2025

Fantastic experience from start to finish. I came in very scared, with little hope, and left feeling as if I finally had a physician that understood me, saw me as an individual, validated my symptoms and would help me formulate a plan to get my life back. Everyone I encountered was truly lovely and so compassionate. Thank you Thank you

Mar 18, 2025

Dr. Chernak is a brilliant gifted hematologist/oncologist who is truly interested in individualizing a treatment plan to keep me safe and optimize my quality of life. He also accepts my wish to look into alternative support with vitamins and supplements, etc along with promising up and coming medication. He is a needle in a haystack. I thank God for placing me in his care.

Mar 14, 2025

My wife and I have been treated with nothing but respect and care from all of the specialty doctors helping my husband at Sloan Kettering we couldn't be happier. Dr Chernak was kind , compassionate and knowledgeable and his nurses as well as intake were great !!!

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