Academic History

Yelena Janjigian, MD, is a Professor and Chief of the Gastrointestinal Oncology Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, New York, NY. She completed her BS at the University of California, CA, her medical degree at New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY, and her internal medicine residency at Bellevue Hospital, New York, NY. She received fellowships in Hematology/Oncology at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.

Prof. Janjigian has served on the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) committee and the American Association of Cancer Research (AACRR) committee. She also serves on the board of directors and chairs the Steering Committee for Giants of Cancer Care.

Speaking on the development of novel therapies for gastrointestinal cancer

Prof. Janjigian treats gastrointestinal cancers, esophageal cancers, and stomach cancer, with a specialty in chemotherapy. In the past, her research has illuminated the value of immunotherapy for HER2 cancers, and her recent work explores circulating tumor DNA as a biomarker for guiding treatment for patients with minimal residual disease. Indeed, her research into the genetic profiles of cancer types has highlighted the predictive value of tumor mutations as well as subtype identification that is key to improving targeted patient-stratified treatment approaches. Beyond her work, she has been involved in the charity Cycle for Survival for over six years, which raises money for rare cancer research led by Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.