NYU Langone Health’s Perlmutter Cancer Center has appointed Anirban Maitra, MD, and Manuel Hidalgo, MD, as co-directors of its new Gastrointestinal (GI) Cancer Center. The move aims to strengthen the institution’s efforts in developing a comprehensive program that integrates research and clinical care for GI cancer patients.
Dr. Maitra is recognized for his work in pancreatic cancer research, including early detection and biomarker development. At NYU Langone, he will collaborate with the Department of Pathology to advance spatial biology, molecular diagnostics, and tissue-based analytics programs. He will also serve as associate director of translational research at Perlmutter Cancer Center.
“We are positioned well at Perlmutter Cancer Center to create a truly world-class GI Cancer Center,” said Dr. Maitra. “The integrated nature of this institution gives us so much opportunity to turn what we do at the lab bench into tangible treatments, developing both our understanding of these cancers, and our ability to improve outcomes for our patients.”
Dr. Hidalgo brings experience in anticancer drug development and has led early clinical trials for over 50 novel agents used in treating advanced cancers. He is known for pioneering patient-derived xenografts to personalize treatment strategies. At Perlmutter Cancer Center, Dr. Hidalgo will focus on building infrastructure for therapeutic development and investigator-initiated trials.
“I am honored to join Perlmutter Cancer Center and help lead the development of this ambitious GI Cancer Center alongside Dr. Maitra,” said Dr. Hidalgo. “The vision behind this initiative is to facilitate collaboration between existing expertise at NYU Langone Health to address the needs of our community of patients.”
John P. Leonard, MD, chief of the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and director of the Center for Blood Cancers at Perlmutter Cancer Center commented on their partnership: “Dr. Maitra and Dr. Hidalgo have collaborated with each other in the past to develop a successful pancreatic cancer center earlier in their careers,” said John P. Leonard, MD, chief of the Division of Hematology and Medical Oncology at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and director of the Center for Blood Cancers at Perlmutter Cancer Center. “We are tremendously excited that their reunion at NYU Langone will see them building a GI Cancer Center that partners with our multidisciplinary teams of incredible surgical oncologists, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, gastroenterologists, and researchers to accelerate scientific discovery into tangible treatments for our patients.”
Dr. Maitra received his medical education from All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi before completing training in pathology at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He previously held leadership roles including inaugural scientific director at MD Anderson’s Pancreatic Cancer Research Center.
Throughout his career Dr. Maitra has participated in multi-institutional initiatives funded by NIH or foundations targeting therapies such as KRAS-targeted drugs or early interception approaches for cancer.
Dr. Hidalgo earned his medical degree from University of Navarra in Spain along with a PhD from Autonomous University in Madrid before further oncology training both domestically and abroad including Harvard Medical School and Weill Cornell Medical College.
He has contributed significantly through teaching roles as well as directing workshops like ASCO/AACR Methods in Clinical Cancer Research Workshop between 2019–2024.
NYU Langone Health operates seven inpatient locations plus more than 320 outpatient sites across New York state and Florida while maintaining high standards recognized by Vizient Inc., which ranked it first among 115 academic medical centers nationwide three years running (https://www.vizientinc.com/our-newsroom/press-releases/vizient-announces-2023-quality-and-accountability-rankings). U.S News & World Report also ranked four specialties No 1 nationally (https://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings). The system reported $14.2 billion revenue this year while supporting two tuition-free medical schools located on Manhattan Island and Long Island.
