Anaeze Offodile, MD, is the Chief Strategy Officer at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, which he says "occupies a unique position in the oncology ecosystem as the reference organization for many of our peers."
“We are in a moment of historic change in cancer care,” says Anaeze Offodile, MD, MPH.
Dr. Offodile joined Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) in 2023 as Chief Strategy Officer, after serving as the Executive Director for Clinical Transformation at MD Anderson. Among his many responsibilities is helping MSK steer a course into the future.
“There are multiple macro trends such as artificial intelligence, a focus on health equity, and adapting to climate change that are all converging in healthcare now,” says Dr. Offodile. “And the COVID-19 pandemic pulled these trends forward by a decade.”
Specifically, the pandemic exposed dramatic gaps in equitable access to healthcare. It also accelerated digital transformations, changing everything from how patients use telemedicine to engage their physicians, to the breadth of acute care they can receive at home.
“It’s an incredible privilege to help MSK figure out how to respond and thrive,” Dr. Offodile says, “particularly because MSK occupies a unique position in the oncology ecosystem as the reference organization for many of our peers.”
Dr. Offodile’s path to becoming a doctor started in Nigeria, where his family moved from London. “Growing up, the primary doctor for my family was a man named Dr. Egejuru. I remember fondly his patience and deep fund of knowledge while caring for my entire family.”
As a medical student at New York’s Columbia University, Dr. Offodile found himself drawn to surgery. “I really enjoyed the technical, problem-solving aspect of surgery, particularly for cancer patients,” he recalls.
He also found that plastic surgery “fosters a deep bond with patients because it’s inherently restorative, whether it’s physically or emotionally or function-wise.”
Known as Anii (pronounced AH-nee), he believes that “making meaningful connections is an important value, whether it’s engaging with our world-class clinicians or MSK’s excellent environmental services staff.”
He brings a similar mindset to thinking about MSK’s future. “I approach strategy planning with humility and respect,” he says. “A favorite quote of mine is from Dr. Peter Pronovost, a healthcare safety expert: ‘Change only happens at the speed of trust.’ ”
Oncology care has radically transformed in the past 25 years, says Dr. Offodile, also noting that many of those changes originated at MSK, from pioneering research in immunotherapy to shifting care to the ambulatory setting and building out a regional network across New Jersey and New York.
For Dr. Offodile, the advances to come will be just as profound. “Because of MSK’s unique status in cancer care, it’s our responsibility to not just meet this important moment, but to lead it to help cancer patients around the world.”