Michael Paul Kuncewitch MD

Martin Karpeh, MD, is the director of surgical oncology at the Northwell Health Cancer Institute for Northwell facilities across eastern Long Island. He is based at Huntington Hospital, where he is chair of surgery.Dr. Karpeh specializes in gastrointestinal tumors, including stomach and esophageal cancer, and cancers of the gastroesophageal junction-the area where the esophagus and stomach join. In the 1990s, he helped introduce minimally invasive laparoscopic staging techniques that now guide treatment decisions, helping doctors determine whether patients receive chemotherapy before surgery for gastroesophageal junction cancer. He also treats soft tissue sarcomas and skin cancers, including melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma and Merkel cell carcinoma.Passionate about helping others from a young age, Dr. Karpeh was inspired to go into medicine by his parents-his father was a physician, his mother a pharmacist. "I couldn't imagine doing anything else," he says.After a surgical oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Dr. Karpeh spent more than a decade there as an attending. He then spent 20 years leading surgical oncology programs at Stony Brook University Medical Center, Mount Sinai Beth Israel Medical Center and Hackensack Meridian Health.At the Cancer Institute, a well-integrated team approach to care ensures Dr. Karpeh's patients receive the best possible treatment. "We draw on specialists from all the hospitals affiliated with the health system at our multidisciplinary tumor boards," he says.Dr. Karpeh has spent decades working in clinical trial development and frequently refers patients to national and international clinical studies. He is involved in translational research at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory to identify treatment targets in stomach and esophageal cancers, and has published more than 100 journal articles on stomach and gastroesophageal junction cancer.A member of the International Gastric Cancer Association, the Society of Surgical Oncology and the American Surgical Association, Dr. Karpeh is also the former president of the New York Surgical Society, New York Cancer Society and the Society of Black Academic Surgeons. Additionally, he has been named a Castle Connelly Top Doctor and New York Magazine Top Doctor over many years.His patients drive his dedication to the field. "You have to take the time to ask questions and carefully listen to your patients to understand exactly what their unique needs are," he says.

Marisa Siebel, MD, is director of gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies for the Eastern Region at Northwell Health Cancer Institute. Prior to her current appointment, she was the director of medical oncology at Imbert Cancer Center. She is assistant professor at Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.For over 20 years, Ive been doing this work because I love the connection with people, she says. I see people at the worst time of their lives, when they need sympathy and a compass, and I treat them like they are my own family.Dr. Siebel completed her hematology-oncology fellowship at Fletcher Allen Heath Care at the University of Vermont. She completed her residency at Maimonides Medical Center and is a graduate of St. Georges University School of Medicine and Brandeis University. She joined Northwell in 2016 to open the Imbert Cancer Center in Bay Shore. In 2021, Dr. Siebel was instrumental in developing a GI oncology program for the Eastern region at the Cancer Center in Greenlawn.Dr. Siebel launched a weekly multidisciplinary GI oncology conference that serves as a concierge program, for patients cases to be reviewed by the entire medical team prior to the patients visit. This allows the patient to leave with a same-day inclusive treatment plan. This is a major advantage for patients, as it enables them to see the entire team of specialists on the same day and under one roof, avoiding protracted appointments and back-and-forth travel, she says, adding that consensus among the team often means treatment is initiated sooner.Dr. Siebel enjoys teaching and mentoring young physicians during their training, as a way to deliver insight and expertise to the next generation of doctors.Dr. Siebel anticipates more clinical trials that enroll patients and explore potential new treatments, as a way to advance research and beneficial outcomes. But she says the foundation of her practice will always be her personal connection to her patients.When I was an undergraduate, I was fortunate to shadow a radiation oncologist who taught me that care isnt just about medicine, its also about listening, she says. Thats stayed with me, and its the approach I take as well. Everything is about patient relationships.