My clinical research focuses on increasing the accuracy of tumor staging and improving the methods of predicting outcomes following cancer surgery. I monitor and update Memorial Sloan Kettering’s colorectal cancer database, which we use to track patient outcomes and ensure that we are providing the highest quality of care. My laboratory research focuses on understanding the mechanisms underlying tumor spread and metastasis and on targeting those mechanisms in designing effective treatments. This work includes developing new tools to identify and measure tumor DNA in the bloodstream. I am also the surgical lead for the international prospective randomized trial PROSPECT, which is aimed at individualizing rectal cancer treatment in order to improve outcomes and reduce treatment-related toxicity.
In my practice, I emphasize personalized patient care. Physician assistants, nurses, and staff at our clinic pay careful attention to each patient’s particular needs. We also emphasize a team approach and work closely with specialists in radiation oncology, medical oncology, and other services. Members of this multidisciplinary team discuss individual cases at our weekly conferences with the goal of providing the most comprehensive care possible.
I have served as MSK’s Medical Staff President, Chair of the Colorectal Task Group for the Society of Surgical Oncology, Colorectal Track Leader for the Education Committee of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and Program Chair of the Annual Meeting of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. Currently, I serve on the staging committee and the precision medicine committee of the American Joint Committee on Cancer, which works on updating the colorectal cancer staging system used by cancer centers throughout the United States.
I am a member of the editorial boards of the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Annals of Surgical Oncology, International Journal of Surgery, and Scientific American Surgery, and I serve as the Colorectal Surgery section editor for UpToDate, an online resource for patients and physicians. I often review submitted manuscripts for the New England Journal of Medicine, Science, the Journal of the American Medical Association, and Lancet Oncology. My publications include over 250 research articles, book chapters, reviews, and editorials on a variety of topics, such as laparoscopic and robotic surgery, the biology of colon and rectal cancers, the treatment of rare anorectal tumors, cancer staging, predictors of outcomes following surgery, and the mechanisms of tumor metastasis. I also lecture nationally and internationally on the management of colorectal, anal, and appendiceal cancers and on the latest advances in minimally invasive surgery.
