Richard R. Barakat, MD
IN A SIGNIFICANT recruitment that involved a nationwide search, Northwell Health has appointed Richard R. Barakat, MD, to lead all of its cancer services and research.
An internationally recognized surgeon and clinical investigator who specializes in robotic and laparoscopic treatments of uterine cancer and radical debulking procedures for ovarian cancer, Dr. Barakat will serve as Physician-in-Chief and Director of the Northwell Health Cancer Institute, Senior Vice President of the health system’s Cancer Service Line, and Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell Health. He will also work closely with the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory as part of a strategic affiliation with Northwell Health on future cancer research and treatment collaborations.
“I am delighted to have been offered this incredible opportunity to join New York State’s largest health-care provider and impact the care of thousands of patients with cancer, including those living on Long Island, which has been my home for the past 25 years,” remarked Dr. Barakat.
Dr. Barakat will join Northwell Health at the end of April 2018. He spent 27 years with the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) in Manhattan, where he served as Director and Vice Chair of its regional care network and affiliations and the Ronald O. Perelman Chair in Gynecologic Surgery.
Throughout his career at MSK, Dr. Barakat oversaw the care of thousands of patients with newly diagnosed gynecologic cancer. He also served as Chief of the Gynecology Service from 2001 to 2013; has been the lead investigator on several influential research projects, including a study to compare the benefits of laparoscopic versus standard surgery for patients with endometrial cancer; as well as been involved with a National Institutes of Health–funded study evaluating risk factors for the development of symptomatic lower-extremity lymphedema in women undergoing radical surgery and lymphadenectomy for gynecologic cancer. ■
