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The Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC) at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center has welcomed five new clinician-scientists specializing in leukemia. These faculty joined in early January 2013.

They are: Mark G. Frattini, MD, PhD; Mark L. Heaney, MD, PhD; Joseph G. Jurcic, MD; Nicole Lamanna, MD; and Todd Rosenblat, MD. All were previously at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. They will all see patients in the Irving Pavilion of NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia (located at 161 Fort Washington Ave., at the corner of W. 165th St.). Dr. Lamanna will also see patients at ColumbiaDoctors Midtown — the new Columbia outpatient facility located at 51 W. 51st St. in Manhattan.

"I am pleased to welcome these wonderful physicians — who combined have more than 60 years of experience treating leukemia — as members of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center," said Stephen Emerson, MD, PhD, director of the HICCC. "We are looking forward to supporting their clinical and translational research, and patients will benefit greatly from their expertise in leukemia and related diseases."

Their recruitment is one of a number of strategic initiatives made possible by a $40 million donation to the HICCC from Herbert and Florence Irving. Please click here click here to read about this major gift, which was announced in June 2012.

"This spectacular team provides comprehensive coverage across the whole spectrum of acute and chronic leukemias," said Donald W. Landry, MD, PhD, the Samuel Bard Chair of the Department of Medicine at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (P&S) and chief of medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia. "They were drawn to each other in the past by a shared commitment to excellence — and this same commitment now draws them to a resurgent heme malignancy program at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia, with Dr. Owen O'Connor directing the Center for Lymphoid Malignancies; Dr. Markus Mapara directing the Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) unit; Dr. Azra Raza directing the Myelodysplastic Syndromes (MDS) Center; Dr. Suzanne Lentzsch directing the Multiple Myeloma and Amyloidosis Service; and Dr. Megan Sykes, director of the Columbia Center for Translational Immunology, heading research for the BMT unit."

Dr. Mark Frattini will join the faculty as associate professor of clinical medicine and director of research for the hematologic malignancies section. Dr. Frattini is a medical oncologist who specializes in the treatment of adult patients with acute and chronic leukemias, myeloproliferative disorders, and myelodysplastic syndrome. Dr. Frattini's research focuses on new drug development for acute and chronic leukemias, with a special interest in small-molecule inhibitors of cell cycle-regulated kinases. He received his MD and PhD from The University of Chicago and his fellowship training in medical oncology at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Dr. Mark Heaney will join the faculty as associate clinical professor of medicine. Dr. Heaney is a hematologist/oncologist with a particular interest in myeloproliferative neoplasms, including myelofibrosis, polycythemia vera, essential thrombocythemia, and chronic myelogenous leukemia. He also has expertise in several rare hematologic malignancies, including hairy cell leukemia, large granular lymphocyte leukemia, hypereosinophilic syndromes, mastocytosis, and histiocytic diseases. His laboratory research focuses on metabolic differences between normal and leukemic cells. He received his MD and PhD from the University of Virginia and completed his fellowship in medical oncology/hematology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Dr. Joseph Jurcic will join the faculty as professor of clinical medicine and director of the hematologic malignancies section of the hematology/oncology division. Dr. Jurcic is a hematologist/oncologist focusing on the treatment of acute and chronic leukemias, myeloproliferative neoplasms, and myelodysplastic syndrome. His research interests include acute myeloid leukemia, radioimmunotherapy with alpha and beta particle-emitting radioisotopes, monoclonal antibody therapy for leukemia, development of novel small-molecule inhibitors for leukemia, and molecular monitoring of minimal residual disease. He received his MD from the University of Pennsylvania and completed his fellowship in medical oncology/hematology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Dr. Nicole Lamanna will join the faculty as associate clinical professor of medicine. Dr. Lamanna is a medical oncologist who specializes in the treatment of adult patients with acute and chronic leukemias, with a focus on lymphoid leukemia and expertise in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Her clinical research interests include the development of combination therapies that include chemoimmunotherapy, immunomodulatory drugs, novel kinase inhibitors, and monoclonal antibodies. She also is working to find active, safer therapies for older patients. She received her MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine and completed her fellowship in medical oncology/hematology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

Dr. Todd Rosenblat will join the faculty as assistant clinical professor of medicine. Dr. Rosenblat is a hematologist/oncologist whose research focuses on developing new and more effective treatments for patients with acute myeloid leukemia. This includes the development of novel drugs and drug combinations, as well as immunotherapy for myeloid leukemias. He received his MD from Stony Brook University and completed his fellowship in medical oncology/hematology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

For appointments with any of these doctors, please contact the Division of Hematology/Oncology at 212-305-5098.

The Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center

The Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center encompasses pre-clinical and clinical research, treatment, prevention, and population-based education efforts in cancer. The Cancer Center was initially funded by the National Cancer Institute in 1972 and became an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center in 1979. Cancer Center researchers and physicians are dedicated to understanding the biology of cancer and to applying that knowledge to the design of cancer therapies and prevention strategies that reduce its incidence and progression and improve the quality of life of those affected by cancer. For more information, visit www.hiccc.columbia.edu.

Columbia University Medical Center

Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership in basic, pre-clinical, and clinical research; medical and health sciences education; and patient care. The medical center trains future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians, scientists, public health professionals, dentists, and nurses at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, and allied research centers and institutions. Established in 1767, Columbia's College of Physicians and Surgeons was the first institution in the country to grant the MD degree and is among the most selective medical schools in the country. Columbia University Medical Center is home to the largest medical research enterprise in New York City and State and one of the largest in the United States. Its physicians treat patients at multiple locations throughout the tri-state area, including the NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia campus in Washington Heights, the new ColumbiaDoctors Midtown location at 51 W. 51st St. in Manhattan, and the new ColumbiaDoctors Riverdale practice. For more information, visit www.cumc.columbia.edu or columbiadoctors.org.

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital

NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, based in New York City, is the nation's largest not-for-profit, non-sectarian hospital, with 2,409 beds. The Hospital has nearly 2 million inpatient and outpatient visits in a year, including 12,797 deliveries and 195,294 visits to its emergency departments. NewYork-Presbyterian's 6,144 affiliated physicians and 19,376 staff provide state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory and preventive care in all areas of medicine at five major centers: NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children's Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian/The Allen Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Westchester Division. One of the most comprehensive health care institutions in the world, the Hospital is committed to excellence in patient care, research, education and community service. NewYork-Presbyterian is the #1 hospital in the New York metropolitan area and is consistently ranked among the best academic medical institutions in the nation, according to U.S.News & World Report. The Hospital has academic affiliations with two of the nation's leading medical colleges: Weill Cornell Medical College and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.