Igor Matushansky

Bio

As a researcher in three medical laboratories and a postdoctoral fellow at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, Igor Matushansky, MD, is a prominent figure in modern Oncological research.

Much of Matushansky's work focuses on the biological aspects of tumor formation. Working with distinguished molecular researcher Carlos Cordon-Cardo, he is serving a postdoctoral research fellowship to investigate tumor progression and the clinical outcome of certain treatments. This research benefits patients with a number of various cancers, including notoriously treatment-resistant malignant mesothelioma.

The Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation named Matushansky a Family Clinical Investigator to work on more gene therapy projects designed to interrupt cancer's normal processes. "This can improve an individual's median time of survival from months to decades," explained the foundation of Matushansky's program. For mesothelioma patients, who typically face an extremely short prognosis, this research could eventually lead to crucial life-prolonging treatments for their tumors.

Matushansky is also a full member of the Columbia Stem Cell Initiative, conducting laboratory studies on cancer and musculoskeletal disorders to reveal differences between healthy tissue and tumors. The stem cell laboratories use state-of-the-art equipment to determine what makes cancerous tissue divide and how medicine can best be used to fight the cells' natural progression.

His research in these laboratories is documented in journals such as Molecular Cancer Therapy and Cancer Letters. Since 2009, Matushansky has published 20 scholarly articles, serving as the lead author for half of them. In 2011, he partnered with mesothelioma expert Robert Taub to discuss adjuvant chemotherapy for soft-tissue sarcoma patients.

For his groundbreaking contributions, Matushansky has received the Julius Marmur Award for Thesis Research. His clinical approach to patient treatment is based on translating his research into real life.

As a medical oncologist who specializes in mesotheliomas and sarcomas, Matushansky is responsible for the internal medicine portions of patient treatment. He currently works at the New York Presbyterian Hospital and the Columbia University Medical Center.  The facilities take a multidisciplinary approach to treatment, providing each patient with access to an entire team of specialists.

As a medical oncologist who specializes in mesotheliomas and sarcomas, Matushansky is responsible for the internal medicine portions of patient treatment. He currently works at the New York Presbyterian Hospital and the Columbia University Medical Center.  The facilities take a multidisciplinary approach to treatment, providing each patient with access to an entire team of specialists.