Vivek Subbiah, MD

As an oncologist at NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, I care for people with all types of solid tumors and rare cancers. I offer personalized medicine to patients whose cancer has not responded to standard treatment and to those for whom no standard option exists. I became a physician to help people through some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. Oncology lets me care for people at the bedside while using research to advance what treatment can offer.

When I meet with patients for the first time, my goal is to provide them with a clear understanding of their diagnosis, their treatment options, and the reasoning behind my recommendations. I believe trust is built through honest, compassionate communication and the confidence that their care team is exploring every possible treatment option.

I am the director of the Early-Phase Drug Development Program and the Rare Cancer Program at Perlmutter Cancer Center. My practice focuses on precision oncology, in which we use the molecular and genetic characteristics of a patient’s tumor to personalize treatment. Our early-phase clinical trials program provides access to new medicines years before they become widely available.

I have led more than 150 clinical trials and helped bring more than 12 therapies to approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. These include the combination of dabrafenib and trametinib for solid tumors with a BRAF V600E mutation and selpercatinib for RET fusion–positive solid tumors. I also led development of the first targeted therapy approved for anaplastic thyroid cancer, one of the most lethal cancers. Each of these treatments began with a question raised by a patient’s unmet need, and answering such questions still drives my work.

I have published more than 500 peer-reviewed publications and have been recognized with the Andy Sabin Family Foundation Award, the Emil Frei Award for Translational Research, the Presidential Excellence Award, and the Leadership in Cancer Drug Development Award. I was also named one of the 100 most influential people in oncology in 2025 by OncoDaily for my work in precision oncology trials. These accomplishments reflect the essential partnership of patients who volunteer for clinical trials and the dedicated team of researchers who translate these discoveries into meaningful advances in cancer care.

This is a hopeful time to be an oncologist. Immunotherapy, targeted therapies, antibody-drug conjugates, and other new treatments have transformed outcomes for many people with cancer. A cancer diagnosis can be frightening, and the road can be difficult, but I encourage my patients to stay engaged in their care, ask questions, and seek teams with expertise in the newest treatments and clinical trials, so they never lose hope.