Koji Takeda, MD

Dr. Virendra I. Patel is the chief of vascular surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. A vascular surgeon-scientist, Dr. Patel is highly skilled in the full range of vascular disorders that can lead to stroke, renal issues, intestinal problems, and peripheral arterial disease. Dr. Patel has a particular interest in clinical outcomes research and has served as principal investigator of several studies to evaluate open and minimally invasive repairs of complex aortic aneurysms. He participated in the TEVAR and EVAR Committees of the Vascular Quality Initiative of the Society of Vascular Surgery, and hel has also been a member of the Executive Council of the New England Society of Vascular Surgery and the Research Advisory Committee for the Society’s Vascular Study Group. A graduate of Tufts University School of Medicine, Dr. Patel completed his surgical residency and a research fellowship in vascular surgery at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and was a clinical fellow in vascular and endovascular surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital. He earned a Master of Public Health at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s Program of Clinical Effectiveness.

Jason Hawksworth, MD is a noted pioneer in minimally invasive robotic hepatobiliary and transplant surgery. Dr. Hawksworth is the Surgical Director of Adult Liver Transplantation, Chief of Hepatobiliary Surgery, and the Director of Robotic Liver Surgery Program in the Division of Abdominal Organ Transplant and Hepatobiliary Surgery at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Irving Medical Center and is an Associate Professor at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Dr. Hawksworth is known for unique and innovative minimally invasive robotic surgeries to remove tumors of the liver, bile duct and pancreas, including robotic major hepatectomy, robotic pancreatectomy, and robotic Whipple. He also specializes in robotic transplantation including robotic kidney transplantation, robotic living donor nephrectomy and robotic living donor hepatectomy. Dr. Hawksworth received his undergraduate degree from The United States Military Academy at West point and his medical degree from Wake Forest University Bowman Gray School of Medicine. Dr. Hawksworth completed general surgery residency at Walter Reed Army Medical Center followed by an abdominal transplant and hepatobiliary surgery fellowship at Georgetown University Hospital. Previously the Chief of Robotic Surgery at Georgetown University Hospital, Dr. Hawksworth established one of the nation’s premier robotic hepatobiliary and transplant programs in 2018 at Georgetown. He was recruited to Columbia University Irving Medical Center in 2023 to lead the liver transplant and hepatobiliary programs and continue to develop innovative techniques in robotic surgery. Dr. Hawksworth is a member of several key organizations including a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, American Society of Transplant Surgeons, International Laparoscopic Liver Society, and Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association. His research interests include clinical transplant and hepatobiliary trials, and he has published over 60 scientific manuscripts and book chapters in leading journals such as Annals of Surgery, Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, American Journal of Transplantation and Transplantation. Dr. Hawksworth is a Colonel in the Army reserves and has deployed four times to support combat operations in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Visit The Center for Liver Disease and Transplantation at columbiasurgery.org/liver.

Dr. S. Sunghyun Yoon is the Chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology and Vice-Chair of Surgical Oncology Research and Education in the Department of Surgery at Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC). Dr. Yoon is a national and international expert in the treatment of patients with sarcomas and other soft tissue tumors, gastric (stomach) and gastroesophageal cancers, gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs), and melanoma. He also has over 18 years of experience in the treatment of other gastrointestinal and abdominal tumors, hepatobiliary tumors, neuroendocrine/adrenal tumors, lymphomas, and spleen tumors. He has been the principal investigator of several clinical trials examining novel treatment strategies and given numerous invited national and international lectures in relation to these cancers. Several of these trials have investigated the treatment of sarcomas, especially abdominal/retroperitoneal sarcomas, with advanced radiation techniques such as proton beam radiation and aggressive surgical resection to minimize local recurrence. Read More About These Treatments: https://columbiasurgery.org/conditions-and-treatments/retroperitoneal-sarcomas-and-pelvic-sarcomas Dr. Yoon was an early advocate for minimally invasive robotic surgery and has performed over 300 robotic procedures including robotic gastrectomies (stomach removal). He has one of the world’s largest experiences in performing prophylactic total gastrectomies for patients with hereditary diffuse gastric cancer (HDGC syndrome) secondary to germline CDH1 mutation. He pioneered a technique for connection of the small bowel to the esophagus after total gastrectomy that is used by former surgical trainees and colleagues throughout the country due to its extremely low leakage rate. Dr. Yoon graduated from Harvard University and received his M.D. from the University of California at San Diego. He completed his residency in general surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital and his fellowship in surgical oncology at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He was an Associate Professor of Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School before joining the staff at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in 2012. Dr. Yoon was an Attending Surgeon in the Division of Gastric and Mixed Tumors at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and a Professor of Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College before joining CUIMC in 2021. Dr. Yoon’s main research interests are in cancer stem cells and targeted biological agents in combination with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. His laboratory has been funded by the National Institutes of Health/National Cancer Institute for 18 years and strives to translate new research discoveries into the clinic. Dr. Yoon is also part of multi-institution research groups funded by Stand Up To Cancer and the DeGregorio Family Foundation to discover early diagnostics and new therapies for gastric cancer. His clinical and research efforts have led to over 150 original research articles, book chapters, and reviews. For a complete list of publications, please visit NCBI.