Historical Overview
The Neuberger Berman Foundation Lung Cancer Center of Weill Cornell Medicine was established in 2005 by the approval of the Board of Overseers with the full endorsement of the Dean of the Medical College. The Board of Overseers simultaneously approved the Dean's nomination of Nasser Altorki M.D., Chief of Thoracic Surgery, as the Center Director. The creation of the Center was made possible by a multi-year philanthropic gift from the Neuberger Berman Foundation and a commitment from the Medical College to renovate and refurbish an appropriate laboratory space for the purpose of conducting translational research in lung cancer and other chest malignancies. Upon completion of the laboratory space, the Center was officially inaugurated in late 2008. Immediately following, Vivek Mittal, Ph.D. was successfully recruited from Cold Spring Harbor Laboratories to serve as Director of the Laboratory. Contemporaneously, the clinical outcomes unit of the Division of Thoracic Surgery was expanded and incorporated into the Center structure to provide the necessary link between clinical and laboratory-based research efforts. Learn more
The Neuberger Berman Lung Cancer Research Center which led by Dr. Nasser Altorki has received a prestigious Cancer Moonshot grant from the National Cancer Institute’s Immuno-Oncology Translational Network (IOTN) to explore the mechanisms that allow slow-growing lung cancer lesions to progress into aggressive malignancies and identify new therapeutic strategies to intercept the transition.
Translational Research
The Neuberger Berman Lung Cancer Center's research program is focused around the lung as a central organ to study de novo lung carcinogenesis (primary lung cancer), as well as the initiation and progression of metastatic lesions derived from extrapulmonary neoplasms (secondary lung cancer). The program integrates expertise in clinical and basic science to foster innovative research for the prevention, detection and treatment of cancer. Learn more
Healthcare Outcomes
The Division of Thoracic Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine|NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital is actively engaged in a robust program of clinical investigation. With over 1,000 thoracic surgical procedures performed every year, the division is one the busiest thoracic surgical programs in the nation. The Clinical Trials and Healthcare Outcomes Center prospectively records the outcomes of these patients with lung cancer and other thoracic malignancies. With over 20 years of prospectively collected data and extensive ongoing biobank effort, the center is in a unique position to assess the efficacy of various thoracic treatments, provide support for translational research and hence improve clinical care. Learn more
Current Clinical Trials
- Lung Cancer
- Esophageal Cancer
Our Lab Researchers
Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery;
Director of Neuberger Berman Center
Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology in Cardiothoracic Surgery;
Director of Research Neuberger Berman Center
Professor of Biochemistry in Cardiothoracic Surgery
Assistant Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology in Cardiothoracic Surgery
Assistant Professor of Clinical Cardiothoracic Surgery
Assistant Professor of Clinical Cardiothoracic Surgery
Assistant Professor of Clinical Cardiothoracic Surgery
Assistant Professor of Clinical Cardiothoracic Surgery
Director of Research Administration
Murtaza Malbari, MS
Director of Research Administration
Phone: (212) 746-9400
Fax: (212) 746-9393
mum2003@med.cornell.edu