Find an MSK Doctor or Cancer Specialist
Memorial Sloan Kettering medical oncologist Ciara Kelly

Ciara Kelly, MBBCh BAO

Sarcoma Medical Oncologist

4.8 | 223 reviews

Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Bone cancers and conditions
  • Soft tissue sarcomas
  • Merkel cell carcinoma

My Specialties

  • Immunotherapy
  • Clinical trials
  • Liquid biopsy
View all
Dr. Kelly's Office Information
Languages: English
Request an Appointment
Our Care Advisors can answer many of your questions. They will connect you with the best healthcare provider for your needs.
Back to top
English
Share

Get to Know Me

I am a medical oncologist who has expertise in treating and researching bone and soft tissue sarcomas and merkel cell carcinoma. I work very closely with our team of medical oncologists, surgeons, radiation oncologists, nurses, and patient support advocates. We provide our patients with the best care and treatment options for their unique disease and circumstances.

Read more

My research aims to develop new and more personalized therapies to treat sarcomas. I am actively involved in developing and designing clinical trials that will look at novel agents that target molecular changes within tumors. I am also studying innovative combination immunotherapy options that will harness a person’s own immune defenses to fight their cancer.

I have a particular interest in advancing our understanding of gastrointestinal stromal tumors and other sarcomas at the molecular level. I am using liquid biopsies to analyze tumor DNA in the blood and tumor biopsies to uncover a biomarker that will ultimately help us match the best treatment option with each individual person’s tumor.

When someone is diagnosed with a rare cancer like a sarcoma, they may think there are limited treatment options. At MSK, the rare is not uncommon. We have an entire team of experts who are solely focused on diagnosing and treating sarcomas. We are constantly looking for newer and better ways to care for our patients.

What I Do at MSK

A sarcoma medical oncologist is a cancer doctor who specializes in sarcoma. This includes soft tissue sarcomas (such as Ewing sarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma) and benign (not cancer) growths that are like sarcoma.

  • Interim Clinical Director, Sarcoma Oncology Service
Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Bone cancers and conditions
  • Soft tissue sarcomas
  • Merkel cell carcinoma

My Specialties

  • Immunotherapy
  • Clinical trials
  • Liquid biopsy
  • Biomarker testing
Education & Honors

Education

  • MBBCh BAO, University College Dublin

Residencies

  • Internal medicine – The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland

Fellowships

  • Medical Oncology – The Royal College of Physicians Ireland
  • Medical Oncology - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Board Certifications

  • Internal Medicine (Ireland)
  • Medical Oncology (Ireland & Europe)

Awards and Honors

  • Irish Society of Medical Oncology Scholarship Award (2014)
  • American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Merit Award (2017)
  • ASCO Young Investigator Award (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

Women talking
New Patients
Scheduling an appointment is easy. Click or call 646-497-9067— 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. Kelly sees patients at two locations.

Office Phone
Location
Basking Ridge, NJ
New York, NY
Memorial Sloan Kettering Basking Ridge
136 Mountain View Boulevard Basking Ridge NJ 07920
Get Directions
Rockefeller Outpatient Pavilion
160 East 53rd Street New York NY 10022
Get Directions
Map MarkerA msk map marker icon
Map MarkerA msk map marker icon
Leaflet © OpenStreetMap contributors; © CARTO.

Looking to see a doctor at a different location? See all MSK locations.

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 Sarcoma Medical Oncology Service doctors

Clinical Trials

Read more
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

Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Kelly’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.

4.8 223 reviews

  • 4.9 Provider's Explanations Easy to Understand
  • 4.9 Trusts Provider with Care
  • 4.9 Provider Listened Carefully
  • 4.8 Likelihood of Recommending Provider
Mar 13, 2025

Continued excellent care by Dr. Kelly and her staff. I am very pleased.

Mar 10, 2025

Excellent communications with all staff members. Dr Kelly is always excellent

Mar 6, 2025

Dr. Kelly has always helped me tremendously. She explains everything very well and I feel very comfortable with her. She's a very, very good doctor.

Feb 27, 2025

This was a telemedicine visit so no "check in experience"

Feb 24, 2025

The provider was very helpful, insightful. I could tell that she read over my history. She was very informative. She answered my questions. I felt extremely comfortable with her, and she was more than open to look at my case and to give me valid feedback while respecting my feelings, my emotions, and my overall knowledge that I brought to the table as well. It was a team. You could tell that she's a team player, that she really thinks about her patient and cares.

View more +
Ratings and Comments Powered by NRC Health

Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

Ciara Kelly discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

  • ChemoCentryx, Inc.
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Deciphera
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Exicure, Inc.
    Professional Services and Activities
  • Kartos Therapeutics, Inc.
    Professional Services and Activities (Uncompensated)
  • Physicians' Education Resource
    Professional Services and Activities

If you’re a patient at MSK and would like more information about your doctor’s external relationships, please talk with your doctor.

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at ecoi@mskcc.org.


View all disclosures

Related topics: