Appointed Deputy Director of Clinical Research and Cancer Treatment & Chief of the Division of Medical Oncology and Hematologic Malignancies

October 21, 2009

NYU Langone Medical Center (NYULMC) announced that Owen A. O'Connor, MD, PhD, has been appointed deputy director of clinical research and cancer treatment at The Cancer Institute (CI) and chief of the new Division of Hematologic Malignancies and Medical Oncology in the Department of Medicine. He will also serve as professor of medicine and pharmacology at NYU School of Medicine.  Dr. O'Connor's clinical practice and research program will focus on the discovery of new therapies and treatment for non-Hodgkin's and Hodgkin's lymphoma.

"We are excited that Dr. O'Connor has joined our team at The Cancer Institute and his arrival comes at a particularly good time as we are expanding our efforts in bringing innovative new therapy to our patients," said William L. Carroll, MD, the Julie and Edward J. Minskoff Professor of Pediatrics and director of the CI. "As deputy director, Dr. O'Connor will help advance translational medicine at CI, aligning clinical and laboratory science, resources, and education. As a recognized educator, he will help strengthen our academic programs and the education of our students, residents, and fellows. And as a researcher, his translational focus on targeted therapy for cancer will be a major asset bringing with him his large stem cell transplant practice complementing our expansion in this scientific area."

Dr. O'Connor will maintain a laboratory program at CI focused on the discovery and development of novel small molecules for the treatment of lymphomas using unique animal models of these diseases and high-throughput chemical screening approaches. He will continue to conduct phase I and II clinical trials, with an emphasis on pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies.  To date, much of his interest in early-phase clinical studies has focused on the development of proteasome inhibitors, epigenetic therapies, Bcl-2 targeted agents and praltrexate for the treatment of lymphoproliferative malignancies. His efforts in the laboratory and clinical research have led to the FDA approval of several drugs for the treatment of mantle cell and cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. Most recently, pralatrexate (Folotyn), a drug he helped develop, became the first and only FDA-approved therapy for patients with relapsed or refractory peripheral T-cell lymphoma (PTCL).  Dr. O'Connor is continuing to study the efficacy of the drug at the CI in several open clinical trials for patients with T-cell lymphoma and the more common B-cell lymphomas.

"My lymphoma team and I are honored to now be a part of The Cancer Institute," said Dr. O'Connor. "I look forward to continuing to develop novel treatments for a variety of hematological malignancies at CI. With our emphasis on translational research, bringing directly to patients the most promising laboratory advances, we are confident that the future of cancer treatment in general, and lymphoma care in particular, has never looked more exciting."

Dr. O'Connor returns to NYU School of Medicine where he first received his PhD in biochemical toxicology and chemical carcinogenesis. He completed his medical degree at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (UMDNJ).  He then went on to complete a medical internship and residency at The New York Hospital-Cornell University Medical Center.  Following his medical residency, he completed a fellowship in medical oncology at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and a fellowship in clinical pharmacology at the New York Hospital-Cornell University Medical School.  He remained on faculty at Memorial Sloan-Kettering from 2000 to 2007 as an attending physician in the Department of Medicine. Most recently he was the director of the Lymphoid Development and Malignancy Program in the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University, and chief of the Lymphoma Service in the College of Physicians and Surgeons at The New York Presbyterian Hospital at Columbia University Medical Center.  Dr. O'Connor is currently a member of several professional societies and has published nearly 100 articles in numerous journals.

Media Inquiries:

Lauren Woods
212-404-3555 (office) | 212-404-3753 (direct) | 917-301-5699 (cell)
lauren.woods@nyumc.org