Gary K Schwartz, MD
I am a board-certified medical oncologist and internist and chief of Columbia University Medical Center's Division of Hematology and Oncology. I am actively involved in translational and clinical research. The lab, which I direct, focuses on the identification of new targeted agents for cancer therapy, especially in the treatment of sarcoma and melanoma. However, these agents are not disease specific and hold promise in the treatment of all solid-tumor malignancies. These laboratory studies allow for a bridge between the laboratory and the clinic, and many of these drugs that originated in the lab are now being evaluated in clinical trials. My research studies have been supported by the National Cancer Institute, the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer, the Department of Defense for Breast Cancer Research, the Byrne Foundation, and the Food and Drug Administration.
I am active in a number of professional organizations, including ALLIANCE for Clinical Trials in Oncology, the American Association of Cancer Research, the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and Radiotherapy Oncology Group. For several years, I have worked closely with the National Institutes of Health and served on a number of NIH review committees. Over the course of my career, I have received many awards, including the Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Research, Jeannik M. Littlefield-AACR Award in Metastatic Colon Cancer and the New York State Teaching Award in the Empire Clinical Research Investigator Program. I have also been awarded a K12 award from the NCI for the training of the next generation of physician-scientists in cancer therapy. I am involved in the teaching and mentorship of junior faculty and fellows, and I take great pride in my active participation in patient care.
I have served on the editorial boards of a number of scientific journals, and I serve as associate editor on both the Journal of Clinical Oncology and Clinical Cancer Research. I am the author of nearly 200 papers and 17 book chapters.
2013 MSKCC Fellowship Solid Tumor Teach Award
2009 Memorial Sloan-Kettering Teaching Excellence Award
2006 New York State Teaching Award–Empire Clinical Research Investigator Program
2006 Jeannik M. Littlefield–AACR Award in Metastatic Colon Cancer
2003 Lustgarten Foundation for Pancreatic Research
Ward PS, Lu C, Cross JR, Abdel-Wahab O, Levine RL, Schwartz GK, Thompson CB. The potential for isocitrate dehydrogenase mutations to produce 2-hydroxyglutarate depends on allele specificity and subcellular compartmentalization. J Biol Chem. 2013;288(6):3804-15. PMCID: 3567635.
Surriga O, Rajasekhar VK, Ambrosini G, Dogan Y, Huang R, Schwartz GK. Crizotinib, a c-Met Inhibitor, Prevents Metastasis in a Metastatic Uveal Melanoma Model. Mol Cancer Ther. 2013.
Schwartz GK, Tap WD, Qin LX, Livingston MB, Undevia SD, Chmielowski B, Agulnik M, Schuetze SM, Reed DR, Okuno SH, Ludwig JA, Keedy V, Rietschel P, Kraft AS, Adkins D, Van Tine BA, Brockstein B, Yim V, Bitas C, Abdullah A, Antonescu CR, Condy M, Dickson MA, Vasudeva SD, Ho AL, Doyle LA, Chen HX, Maki RG. Cixutumumab and temsirolimus for patients with bone and soft-tissue sarcoma: a multicentre, open-label, phase 2 trial. Lancet Oncol. 2013;14(4):371-82. PMCID: 3766955.
Dickson MA, Tap WD, Keohan ML, D'Angelo SP, Gounder MM, Antonescu CR, Landa J, Qin LX, Rathbone DD, Condy MM, Ustoyev Y, Crago AM, Singer S, Schwartz GK. Phase II trial of the CDK4 inhibitor PD0332991 in patients with advanced CDK4-amplified well-differentiated or dedifferentiated liposarcoma. J Clin Oncol. 2013;31(16):2024-8. PMCID: 3661937.
Dickson MA, Okuno SH, Keohan ML, Maki RG, D'Adamo DR, Akhurst TJ, Antonescu CR, Schwartz GK. Phase II study of the HSP90-inhibitor BIIB021 in gastrointestinal stromal tumors. Ann Oncol. 2013;24(1):252-7.
Ambrosini G, Musi E, Ho AL, de Stanchina E, Schwartz GK. Inhibition of mutant GNAQ signaling in uveal melanoma induces AMPK-dependent autophagic cell death. Mol Cancer Ther. 2013;12(5):768-76.
Luke JJ, D'Adamo DR, Dickson MA, Keohan ML, Carvajal RD, Maki RG, de Stanchina E, Musi E, Singer S, Schwartz GK. The cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor flavopiridol potentiates doxorubicin efficacy in advanced sarcomas: preclinical investigations and results of a phase I dose-escalation clinical trial. Clin Cancer Res. 2012;18(9):2638-47. PMCID: 3343204.
Ho AL, Vasudeva SD, Lae M, Saito T, Barbashina V, Antonescu CR, Ladanyi M, Schwartz GK. PDGF receptor alpha is an alternative mediator of rapamycin-induced Akt activation: implications for combination targeted therapy of synovial sarcoma. Cancer Res. 2012;72(17):4515-25. PMCID: 3432680.
Ho AL, Musi E, Ambrosini G, Nair JS, Deraje Vasudeva S, de Stanchina E, Schwartz GK. Impact of combined mTOR and MEK inhibition in uveal melanoma is driven by tumor genotype. PLoS One. 2012;7(7):e40439. PMCID: 3393714.
Schwartz GK, LoRusso PM, Dickson MA, Randolph SS, Shaik MN, Wilner KD, Courtney R, O'Dwyer PJ. Phase I study of PD 0332991, a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, administered in 3-week cycles (Schedule 2/1). Br J Cancer. 2011;104(12):1862-8. PMCID: 3111206.
Carvajal RD, Antonescu CR, Wolchok JD, Chapman PB, Roman RA, Teitcher J, Panageas KS, Busam KJ, Chmielowski B, Lutzky J, Pavlick AC, Fusco A, Cane L, Takebe N, Vemula S, Bouvier N, Bastian BC, Schwartz GK. KIT as a therapeutic target in metastatic melanoma. JAMA. 2011;305(22):2327-34.