Nationally renowned clinician and researcher Vamsidhar “Vamsi” Velcheti, MD, recently joined Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone Health as director of thoracic medical oncology, enhancing the center’s efforts to improve clinical care, increase translational and clinical research, and promote interdisciplinary collaborations in lung cancer. 

Dr. Velcheti broadens the depth and breadth of cutting-edge clinical trials for lung cancer patients at Perlmutter Cancer Center, through his research on biomarkers to predict response to immunotherapy. He also serves as a principal investigator of a multisite, National Institutes of Health-funded translational research project on early-stage lung cancer.

Prior to joining Perlmutter Cancer Center, Dr. Velcheti was associate director of the Center of Immuno-Oncology Research at Cleveland Clinic’s Taussig Cancer Institute.

“We’re very excited to welcome Dr. Velcheti to our faculty,” says Benjamin G. Neel, MD, PhD, director of Perlmutter Cancer Center. “His expertise in immuno-oncology research will strengthen our already impressive lung cancer program.”

Dr. Velcheti will be a major contributor to Perlmutter Cancer Center’s Lung Cancer Center—a multidisciplinary initiative to bring new research discoveries to patients more quickly and expand clinical collaborations. This center includes other internationally renowned laboratory researchers, surgeons, medical and radiation oncologists, radiologists, and geneticists.

About Dr. Velcheti

After receiving his medical degree from the Armed Forces Medical College in India, Dr. Velcheti completed a residency in internal medicine from Ochsner Medical Center in Louisiana, and a clinical fellowship in hematology and oncology at Yale University in Connecticut.

His research has been published in peer-reviewed journals including Journal of Clinical Oncology, Lancet Oncology, Journal of the American Medical Association—Oncology, Journal of Thoracic Oncology, and Lung Cancer. Additionally, he has received numerous awards from the American Society of Clinical Oncology for his contributions to the field of lung cancer, including the Young Investigator Award in 2012, the Merit Award in 2013, and the Career Development Award in 2014.

“It is an honor to join a fantastic institution like Perlmutter Cancer Center,” says Dr. Velcheti. “Lung cancer is a highly complex disease for which most patients require a team approach. With our world-class faculty and facilities, there is immense potential for Perlmutter Cancer Center to be one of the premier centers of excellence in lung cancer.”