Leading Surgeon and Scientist Appointed Director of Gynecologic Oncology at NYU Langone Medical Center

NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Internationally renowned surgeon and scientist Douglas A. Levine, MD, FACOG, FACS, whose seminal biomarker research has helped to advance early detection and treatment of ovarian cancer, will join the faculty of NYU Langone Medical Center as Director of the Division of Gynecologic Oncology at its Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center and the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, effective May 15, 2016.

Dr. Levine joins NYU Langone following a distinguished career at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he served as an attending physician and head of the Gynecology Research Laboratory. Specifically, his studies helped bring greater focus on treating patients through individualized therapies based on genetics and risk factors. Ovarian cancer is the fifth leading cause of cancer death, and the source of more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system.

"We're pleased to welcome Dr. Levine to lead our team of distinguished clinicians and researchers focusing on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of gynecologic cancers," said David Keefe, MD, the Stanley H. Kaplan Professor and Chairman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at NYU Langone. "His exceptional knowledge and skills will elevate our cancer care for women to an important next level."

"Dr. Levine's work sets the stage for greater understanding of why ovarian cancers start and how we can treat them better once they develop," said Benjamin G. Neel, MD, PhD, director of the Perlmutter Cancer Center. "These contributions to the field have been practice-changing, providing new insights and innovations in how we think about and approach ovarian cancer."

Joining a Rapidly-Expanding and Talented Oncology Team

Dr. Levine is the most recent cancer expert to join a growing roster of top-tier researchers and clinicians who have joined the faculty of NYU Langone and its Perlmutter Cancer Center. Last year, immunotherapy expert Jeffrey S. Weber, MD, PhD, formerly of the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, became deputy director, head of experimental therapeutics and co-director of the melanoma program at Perlmutter Cancer Center. Also last year, Andrew S. Chi, MD, PhD, joined Perlmutter as chief of neuro-oncology and co-director of NYU Langone's Brain Tumor Center, following a distinguished career at Massachusetts General Hospital, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Harvard Medical School.

In February 2016, pancreatic cancer expert Alec Kimmelman, MD, PhD, joined NYU Langone as chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology, following his tenure as associate professor in the Departments of Radiation Oncology at Harvard Medical School and its major teaching affiliates, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Brigham and Women's Hospital. And this March, Shohei Koide, PhD, will assume the newly created role of director of Perlmutter's newly-established program in cancer biologics research. He is currently Professor of Biochemistry at University of Chicago.

Research Focus on Ovarian and Endometrial Cancers

As a well-known leader in the field of gynecologic oncology, Dr. Levine brings an exceptional record of positive patient outcomes, and a history of leadership and expertise in studying the most advanced diagnostics, treatments and prevention approaches for those at-risk or suffering from ovarian and endometrial cancers.

While at Memorial Sloan Kettering leading the Gynecology Research Lab, he served as a translational scientist on many national clinical trials determining what genomic alterations are associated with response to targeted therapies. There, he discovered universal mutations in SMARCA4 that drive small cell carcinoma of the ovary.

In addition, Dr. Levine has been active within the NIH-sponsored Cancer Genome Atlas project (TCGA). He serves as co-chair of the ovarian, endometrial, and uterine carcinosarcoma disease working groups and provides a translational focus to the genomic analyses of these projects. In addition to these responsibilities, Dr. Levine is a member of the Scientific Advisory Committee of the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, the Clearity Foundation, and the Honorable Tina Brozman Foundation.

About Dr. Levine

A prolific researcher and educator, Dr. Levine has authored or co-authored more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and two textbooks.

In addition to his many academic honors and distinctions, he has been awarded the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists Mentor Award; served as co-chair of the American Association for Cancer Research Special Conference on Ovarian Cancer; received the 2013 Foundation for Women's Cancer Excellence in Ovarian Cancer Research Prize; and was recently named the Assistant Dean of the Department of Defense Ovarian Cancer Academy.

After graduating from Franklin and Marshall College in Pennsylvania, Dr. Levine completed medical school at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, and his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Mount Sinai Medical Center. He then completed a gynecologic oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering, and two years of full-time laboratory research there.

"I'm excited to join the outstanding faculty of NYU Langone, an academic medical center that has a proven record of innovation and a strong commitment to women's health, particularly in oncology," said Dr. Levine. "As we continue to grow gynecologic oncology, I look forward to working within a division committed to advancing the detection and treatment of aggressive diseases, including ovarian and endometrial cancers, which are still leading causes of cancer death among women."

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SOURCE NYU Langone Medical Center