While we do not make medical referrals, below is a list of some of the most well-respected mesothelioma doctors in the country.
Ralph Bueno, MD
Brigham and Women’s Hospital
Dr. Ralph Bueno is the Associate Chief of Medicine in the Division of Thoracic Surgery at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a teaching affiliate at the Harvard University College of Medicine. Dr. Bueno currently serves as the Program Manager of the Thoracic Immediate Care Unit and Director of the Photodynamic Therapy Program. Dr. Bueno is an established leader in the field of malignant mesothelioma and has studied the behavior of all types of mesothelioma. Dr. Bueno continues to focus on integrating cellular behavior to develop more aggressive and effective mesothelioma treatments.
Raja M. Flores, MD
The Mount Sinai Medical Center
Dr. Raja M. Flores is the Chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery, Ames Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at The Mount Sinai Medical Center. He is a recognized leader in the field of thoracic surgery for his work in pioneering mesothelioma treatment. He is known for establishing the VATS lobectomy, a minimally invasive treatment that uses three small incisions, which many physicians consider the golden standard in lung cancer treatment via surgery. Dr. Flores’ other research interests are centered on the management of malignant pleural mesothelioma and cutting-edge minimally invasive surgical techniques for lung cancer treatment. He is a member of numerous surgical and medical societies and serves on various editorial boards.
Steven M. Hahn, MD
University of Pennsylvania – Perelman School of Medicine
Dr. Steven Hahn earned his MD with honors from Temple University. He is board-certified in medical oncology, internal medicine and radiation oncology. In 1996, Dr. Hahn joined the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology. He was later promoted to a full professor and, in 2005, became chairman of the department. Dr. Hahn’s clinical interests lie in the areas of mesothelioma, lung cancer, soft tissue sarcoma and prostate cancer.
Hedy Kindler, MD
University of Chicago Medicine
Dr. Hedy Kindler is the Director of the Mesothelioma Program and an Associate Professor of Medicine at the University of Chicago Medical Center in the department of hemotology/oncology. After completing her internship and residency at the UCLA Medical Center, Dr. Kindler took part in a fellowship at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, a medical facility that focuses on battling all types of cancer. Now, at the University of Chicago Medical Center, Dr. Kindler has been focused on developing research on novel drugs that will aid in the treatment of mesothelioma. Dr. Kindler’s interest in the treatment of mesothelioma was, in part, sparked when her father passed away from the disease in 2001. In addition to her work at the University of Chicago Medical Center, Dr. Kindler serves on the Science Advisory Board of the Meso Foundation (formerly MARF) and is a member of the Executive Committee of the International Mesothelioma Interest Group (iMig). She is also involved with a host of other organizations that focus on the fight against lung cancer.
Lee Krug, MD
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Dr. Lee M. Krug is an associate attending physician at the Division of Thoracic Oncology, department of medicine at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, where he is the Director of the mesothelioma program. Dr. Krug has investigated multimodality approaches for patients in the early stages of malignant pleural mesothelioma. He led a multicenter U.S. trial of induction chemotherapy for mesothelioma patients. Currently, Dr. Krug is testing the possibility of chemotherapy followed by pleural radiation in mesothelioma treatment. In addition, Dr. Krug has a strong interest in treatments for patients with more advanced cases of mesothelioma. Dr. Krug led the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) medical committee that established the NCCN clinical treatment guidelines for mesothelioma.
Brian Loggie, MD
Creighton University Medical School
Dr. Brian Loggie is the Chief of Surgical Oncology at the Creighton University School of Medicine and is known as one of the pioneers of mesothelioma treatment. Dr. Loggie is attributed with developing a mesothelioma treatment known as intraperitoneal chemotherapy, or heated chemotherapy. Now, as the professor of surgery and director of cancer biology at the Creighton University Medical School, Dr. Loggie leads a team of highly skilled doctors and nurses in developing new and innovative ways to treat peritoneal mesothelioma.
Harvey I. Pass, MD
New York University
Dr. Harvey I. Pass is the Stephen E. Banner Professor of Thoracic Oncology; Vice Chairman, Research, Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery; and Director, Division of Thoracic Surgery and Thoracic Oncology at the NYU Langone Medical Center and School of Medicine. He earned his undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University and his medical degree from Duke University Medical School. Before moving to New York, Dr. Pass was a Professor of Surgery and Oncology for Wayne State University and the Karmanos Cancer Institute. He has been honored to be frequently funded by grants from the Department of Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, National Cancer Institute or the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) since 1998. Dr. Pass has been awarded with the Presidents Award for Clinical Research at Karmanos Cancer Institute, NIH Directors Award, Landon Award for International Science from the AACR, Wagner Medal from the International Mesothelioma Interest Group and the Pioneer Award from the Mesothelioma Foundation (formerly MARF). He has been a Board Member of the International Mesothelioma Interest Group, Addario Foundation, International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer and the Lung Cancer Alliance.
Valerie Rusch, MD
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center
Dr. Valerie Rusch is the Chief of Thracic Surgery and the Vice Chair of Clinical Research in the Department of Surgery at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Dr. Rusch has dedicated her career to the development of research and treatment of mesothelioma, lung cancer and the cancer of the thorax, esophagus and chest wall. Dr. Rusch has focused on studying how patients will respond to different mesothelioma treatment modalities and various methods of detection in order to diagnose patients in the earlier stages of mesothelioma. In addition to her primary role at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Dr. Rusch sits on the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors of the American College of Surgeons and was the editor for “The Oncologist.”
David Rice, MD
University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
Dr. David Rice is an Associate Professor at the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Rice, who is originally from Dublin, Ireland, completed his general surgery residency at the Mayo Clinic in 1999 where he also completed a fellowship in tumor immunology. During this time, Dr. Rice studied the possible outcomes that the stimulating of T-cells in the immune system produced. Dr. Rice became Chief Resident while completing another residency program in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery at the Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Dr. Rice is board-certified by the American Board of Thoracic Surgeons, The American Board of Surgery, the Texas State Board of Examiners and the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice. Presently, Dr. Rice holds the title of Director for both the mesothelioma program and minimally invasive surgery at M.D. Anderson.
Daniel Sterman, MD
University of Pennsylvania Medical Center
Dr. Daniel Sterman currently serves as Associate Professor of Medicine and Associate Professor of Medicine in Surgery, the Director of the PENN Interventional Pulmonology Program, and Clinical Director of the Thoracic Oncology Gene Therapy Program at the Center for Lung Cancer and Related Disorders of the University of Pennsylvania Medical Center. His research centers on the translation of laboratory discoveries from the medical world directly to patients. Dr. Sterman focuses on conducting clinical trials that study the impact of vaccine therapy and gene therapy for mesothelioma, lung cancer and other issues associated with the lungs.
David J. Sugarbaker, MD
Brigham & Women’s Hospital
Dr. David J. Sugarbaker is the Richard E. Wilson Professor of Surgical Oncology at Harvard Medical School, the Chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Philip E. Lowe Senior at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. He earned his degrees from Wheaton College and Cornell University Medical College. Following his training, Dr. Sugarbaker returned to the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston as the head of the newly formed Division of Thoracic Surgery.
Under Dr. Sugarbaker’s leadership, the Division of Thoracic Surgery at Brigham and Women’s has grown into one of the largest in the nation, seeing more than 3,700 cases a year. Dr. Sugarbaker pioneered the innovative extrapleural pneumonectomy for mesothelioma patients, a radical surgery where all of the cancerous tumors are removed from a patient. He is the founder and director of the International Mesothelioma Program (IMP) at Brigham and Women’s and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Sugarbaker travels extensively and speaks at numerous lectures at various hospitals, society and association meetings through the United States and in Europe, China, Japan and Australia.
Paul Sugarbaker, MD
Washington Hospital Center
Dr. Paul Sugarbaker is a Gastrointestinal Surgical Oncologist and the Director of Surgical Oncology at the Washington Cancer Institute. Dr. Sugarbaker specializes in the treatment of peritoneal mesothelioma by applying a combination of cytoreductive surgery with intraperitoneal and systemic chemotherapy. He is also a highly accomplished author with over 780 scholarly and scientific books, reports and articles published to date. Dr. Sugarbaker continues clinical research on rare diseases such as pseudomyxoma peritoneal, peritoneal mesothelioma, peritoneal carcinomatosis and abdominal sarcomas at the Washington Hospital Center.
Robert Taub, MD
NY Presbyterian Columbia University Medical Center
Dr. Robert Taub is a medical oncologist and hematologist and the Director of the Mesothelioma Center at the NY-Presbyterian Columbia University Medical Center. Dr. Taub specializes in medical research and treatment for patients with mesothelioma and is currently developing chemotherapeutic and surgical techniques intended to better treat mesothelioma. Specifically, Dr. Taub is studying multimodal treatment algorithms with a focus on intracavitary chemotherapy to treat peritoneal mesothelioma. Dr. Taub is also developing lung-preserving therapies for pleural mesothelioma. Dr. Taub has significantly helped in the advancement of comprehensive treatments for mesothelioma patients and creating patient-specific approaches to reach the maximum efficacy for each specific patient. He has taken part in the development in several experimental mesothelioma treatments and has been awarded by the Beth Israel Cancer Research Fund, the Mount Sinai Hospital and the American Cancer Society.
Dr. Mei-Yoong Yap, MD
Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center, Bellflower CA
Dr. Mei-Yoong Yap is a medical oncologist who specializes in internal medicine at the Kaiser Permanente Downey Medical Center. Dr. Yap has over 27 years of experience in treating patients with lung cancer including mesothelioma and is board certified in internal medicine.
