Dr. Sanjay Goel has been named director of the Phase I/Investigational Therapeutics Program at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey in New Brunswick.
Goel will lead the program, which is a multidisciplinary scientific group designed to develop new methods for the treatment of cancer, in collaboration with colleagues across the RWJBarnabas Health system.
Phase I clinical trials explore the safety of a new treatment and establish the most effective method of administration to patients. The Phase I/Investigational Therapeutics Program conducts clinical trials of novel targeted therapy approaches, including genomics-directed protocols and novel immunooncology approaches, as well as first-in-human trials of novel compounds. Clinical trial offerings are diverse and include partnerships with academia, industry and government.
“I am thrilled for the opportunity to join New Jersey’s only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center to help bring the very best clinical trials to our patients in New Jersey, at both Rutgers Cancer Institute and across the RWJBarnabas Health system,” Goel said.
“I look forward to working with a multidisciplinary team of medical oncologists, nurses, research scientists, data coordinators and social workers to improve the knowledge base and advance the new therapies to treat a disease that impacts so many.”
Dr. Howard Hochster, associate director for clinical research at Rutgers Cancer Institute and director of Oncology Research at RWJBarnabas Health, applauded the announcement.
“Dr. Goel shares the vision of the Rutgers Cancer Institute leadership of a unified, robust and broad-based clinical trials program bringing state-of-the-art treatment to the people of New Jersey,” he said.
“Dr. Goel is a leader in the area of new drug development and early phase clinical trials. We know he will continue our strong track record in putting Rutgers Cancer Institute at the forefront of new drug and treatment trials. Through our ongoing research, we are making progress in the diagnosis and treatment of cancers among our patients providing national leadership in clinical research.”
Goel, who received his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery degrees and completed a rotary internship at Christian Medical College in Vellore, India, completed his residency in internal medicine at the State University of New York Health Sciences Center in Brooklyn — followed by fellowships in hematology-oncology at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver and the Albert Einstein Cancer Center of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and Montefiore Medical Center.
Goel was most recently an attending physician at Montefiore Einstein Center for Cancer Care and a professor of medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Goal, who also is a professor of medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, has published a variety of articles in peer-reviewed journals with a focus on clinical and translational research, drug development and phase I oncology clinical trials.
