Benjamin G. Neel, MD, PhD, Named Director Of The Laura And Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center At NYU Langone Medical Center

Internationally renowned cancer biologist Benjamin G. Neel, MD, PhD, an expert in the field of cell signal transduction, has been named Director of the Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone Medical Center — a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center. Dr. Neel will assume his new post on January 1, 2015.

“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Neel to our medical community and to have him take the reins of our highly respected Perlmutter Cancer Center,” said Robert I. Grossman, MD, dean and CEO of NYU Langone. “The depth and scope of Dr. Neel’s experience and expertise as a physician, researcher and administrator underscores the tremendous impact he will have in leading our cancer-related clinical and research initiatives to even greater success.”

In his new role, Dr. Neel will advance NYU Langone’s nationally recognized cancer programs further to the forefront of oncological research and patient care. He will oversee the building of world-class translational programs in immunotherapy, cancer genetics/targeted therapies and epigenetics, imaging, community outreach and supportive oncology. In addition, Dr. Neel will be responsible for all programs throughout NYU Langone’s vast network of cancer-related clinical care.

Prior to joining NYU Langone, Dr. Neel most recently served as Director of the Ontario Cancer Institute at Princess Margaret Cancer Center, Canada’s largest cancer research center and part of University Health Network in Toronto, Ontario, a position he held since 2007. He also served as Professor of Medical Biophysics at the University of Toronto, and holds a Tier 1 Canada Research Chair in signal transduction and disease.

An accomplished and highly respected investigator, Dr. Neel’s research focuses on cell signaling in cancer and developmental disease, functional genomics of breast cancer and ovarian cancer tumor initiating cells.

Dr. Neel earned his PhD in Viral Oncology from The Rockefeller University in 1982 and his MD degree from Cornell University Medical School the following year. After completing residency and post-doctoral training at Harvard institutions, he was appointed Assistant Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS) in 1988, and began his own independent research laboratory in the Molecular Medicine Unit at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, now known as Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC). He also served as the Director of the Cancer Biology Program from 1994-2007 and as Deputy Director for Basic Research, Hematology Division at BIDMC from 2003-2007. In 2006, he was appointed to the William B. Castle Chair of Medicine at HMS.

He has held multiple grants from the National Institutes of Health and private foundations, and is the author of close to 200 original papers, many of which have been published in leading scientific journals. His graduate work on oncogene activation by slowly transforming RNA tumor viruses had major impact on the field. He was the inaugural recipient of the Gertrude Elion Award of the American Association for Cancer Research, and also serves as editor of multiple peer-review journals, including Cancer Cell, Molecular Cell and Cancer Discovery. He is also an elected member of the Board of Directors for the American Association for Cancer Research, and previously served as the Program Chair for the Annual Meeting of the AACR.

Media Inquiries:

Jim Mandler

212.404.3525│jim.mandler@nyumc.org