I came to Rutgers Cancer Institute in 2005 from Dana-Farber cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School where I was an instructor in medicine and staff physician. I started my medical training at Yale University, where I graduated from with both an MD and PhD in cell biology. I then completed a medical residency at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and served as a Chief Medical Resident. This was followed by fellowship in medical oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

With a research interest in breast cancer biology and DNA repair, I am currently exploring how DNA repair defects in cancers can be exploited to develop novel effective treatments. I am also active in applying next-generation sequencing technology to identify specific genomic changes in cancers that can be therapeutically targeted. As a physician/scientist I both run a basic research laboratory focused on breast cancer biology and see patients in the Stacy Goldstein Breast Cancer Center. In the clinic, I
work collaboratively with experts across multi-disciplines and have the opportunity to put theory into practice as we aim to develop the next generation of targeted treatments for breast cancer. 

Working with a team of radiation oncologists, surgical oncologists, nurses, social workers, genetic specialists and others, I help patients understand their specific disease and their treatment options so that they can make informed decisions. I am part of the team that leads the Precision Medicine Initiative at the Cancer Institute, and have developed research protocols in which patients with rare or difficult to treat cancers under targeted genomic sequencing to search for new potential treatment options.

I have developed the long standing Molecular Tumor Board at RCI.  This work has led to several novel findings that are driving both clinical trials and basic cancer research at the Cancer Institute. Also, I am a Professor of Medicine and Pharmacology at Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, hold the Omar Boraie Chair in Genomic Science and serve as Associate Director for Translational Science at the Rutgers Cancer Institute.

I am the author or co-author of more than 158 publications and serve as Associate Editor for the JCO Precision Oncology Clinical Expertise Breast cancer, BRCA1/2, triple-negative breast cancer, breast cancer biology, rare cancers.

Honors:
• Excellence Research Award, 2024
• Dr. Jonathan Yavelow Mentor Award New Jersey Commission on Cancer Research 2022
• Hero Award, Triple Negative Breast Cancer Foundation, 2016
• AHEPA, Axios Award, AHEPA 5Th District Cancer Research Foundation, 2015
• Award of Hope for Leadership in Research and Patient Care, Rutgers Cancer Institute New Jersey, 2014
• Sidney Kimmel Foundation, Kimmel Scholar Award, 2006
• National Cancer Institute, Howard Temin Award, 2004
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Postdoctoral Research Fellowship, 1999