Anil K. Rustgi, MD
ANIL K. RUSTGI, MD, has been named Director of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at Columbia University Irving Medical Center and NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Pending approval of the university’s trustees, Dr. Rustgi will serve as Professor of Medicine and Associate Dean of Oncology in the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
For the past 2 decades, Dr. Rustgi has served as the T. Grier Miller Professor of Medicine and Genetics and Chief of Gastroenterology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine, where he co-led the Tumor Biology Program. He was also Director of the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Center for Molecular Studies in Digestive and Liver Diseases and Director of the Joint Penn–Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Center for Digestive, Liver, and Pancreatic Medicine. Dr. Rustgi also received the American Cancer Society Research Professorship.
“Building upon many collaborations and friendships at the University of Pennsylvania for the past 20-plus years, I look forward to joining Columbia University, its medical school, and the cancer center of Columbia and NewYork-Presbyterian to advance the shared missions of providing innovative and quality patient care; engaging in research; and forging pathways for students, residents, fellows, faculty, and staff alike,” said Dr. Rustgi.
Research Focus and Professional Experience
DR. RUSTGI ’S RESEARCH focuses on the intrinsic cellular processes and tumor microenvironment that led to the development, progression, and metastasis of gastrointestinal cancers, including cancers of the esophagus, pancreas, and colon. Using mouse models and three-dimensional culture models, Dr. Rustgi is investigating the role of cancer-causing genes and tumor-suppressor genes in the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal cancers.
Dr. Rustgi earned his medical degree at Duke University School of Medicine. He completed an internal medicine residency at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and a gastrointestinal fellowship at Massachusetts General Hospital, both of which are affiliates of Harvard Medical School. He also served as Associate Professor of Medicine before joining the University of Pennsylvania in 1998. ■
