Shridar Ganesan, MD, PhD, a physician–scientist with a background in cancer biology and DNA repair, has been named director of the new Center for Molecular Oncology at NYU Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center.

The Center for Molecular Oncology will assess people diagnosed with cancer with the most advanced molecular diagnostics available and match them with the most effective therapies. Dr. Ganesan will be building up and leading the center by collaborating with molecular pathologists, clinician researchers, and others across the institution to integrate the analysis of genomic sequencing and other molecular assays to develop personalized care plans.

A medical oncologist with a focus on breast cancer and rare cancers, Dr. Ganesan brings extensive knowledge of treating patients in addition to his administrative duties. He comes to NYU Langone from Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, where he served as the chief of molecular oncology and associate director for translational research.

Dr. Ganesan’s research includes investigating genetic instability and epigenetic instability, which is a characteristic of most cancer cells, with a focus on the biology of the genes that suppress tumors caused by breast cancer genes BRCA1 and BRCA2. His laboratory also has expertise in translational cancer genomics and the biology of rare cancers, with a focus on identifying new cancer genes and understanding the mechanisms of response and resistance to targeted therapy and immunotherapy.

Molecular Oncology

Molecular oncology is an interdisciplinary specialty that focuses on the cancer biology and the genomic alterations that underlie most solid tumors and blood cancers. Researchers and clinicians use liquid biopsy to identify the genes and mutations involved in the development of individual cancers quickly and accurately.

The Center for Molecular Oncology will manage an institution-wide care model in which all patients diagnosed with cancer will receive up-front molecular analysis of their cancer, followed by serial liquid biopsies—sequencing for tumor DNA in the blood—as needed. This approach offers rapid diagnostic capabilities and can provide a detailed picture of each patient’s individual cancer and how it may evolve over time during treatment. Ultimately, this will drive development of new and more effective treatment approaches.

“The aim of this center is to bring the advances that are happening in molecular analysis of cancers and the application of targeted therapies to every patient diagnosed with cancer at any of our locations,” says Dr. Ganesan. “We want to use that to inform our standard approach to treatment across our entire network. This will help us treat individuals better and help us classify and organize diseases to advance our understanding of cancer in general and develop novel treatments.”

Armed with this knowledge, care teams can more accurately assign patients to individualized clinical trials and therapies, avoid over- or undertreating, and potentially minimize side effects. Right now, genomic analyses and liquid biopsies are used for patients already diagnosed with cancer, but in the future, it may be used for early detection, revealing cancer far earlier than traditional methods.

“At Perlmutter Cancer Center, we are uniquely positioned to build this program on a large scale, given our integrated system,” says Alec Kimmelman, MD, PhD, the Anita Steckler and Joseph Steckler Professor and chair of Radiation Oncology and the director of Perlmutter Cancer Center. “With Dr. Ganesan and the team, we are going to set the new standard of care and ensure all of our patients have access to it wherever they live.”

About Dr. Ganesan

Dr. Ganesan received his MD and PhD in cell biology at Yale University before going on to complete his postgraduate training at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He later held academic titles at several institutions, including Harvard Medical School and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. At Rutgers, he held multiple leadership positions, including the Omar Boraie Chair in Genomic Science, associate director of translational science, chief of the section of molecular oncology, and co-leader of the Clinical Investigations and Precision Therapeutics Program.

His extensive experience in basic, translational, and clinical research has resulted in more than 140 peer-reviewed papers in high-impact journals, including Nature, Cell, Cancer Discovery, JCI, and JCO Precision Oncology. He also has dedicated his time to mentoring graduate students, residents, and postdoctoral research fellows, serving the future of the medical community. He developed, organized, and now runs a molecular tumor board, which is a hub for clinical, research, and educational activities.

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