About Us>Medical Advisory Board > Neil Vasan, MD, PhD

Neil Vasan, MD, PhD

Assistant Professor; Breast Oncologist, New York Presbyterian Hospital and Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center, New York

Neil Vasan

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Neil Vasan, MD, PhD, is a breast oncologist, physician-scientist, and assistant professor of medicine in the division of hematology and oncology at Columbia University, where he also serves as the principal investigator at the Vasan Laboratory at Columbia University Medical Center.

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Dr. Vasan is a member of the breast cancer program at Columbia University Medical Center, where he treats breast cancer patients with standard-of-care therapies and through clinical trials. His laboratory (vasanlab.com) uses functional genomics to explore how proteins regulate breast cancer cell signaling, growth, and therapeutic response.

Dr. Vasan received bachelor's and master's degrees from Harvard University and medical and doctoral degrees from Yale University School of Medicine. He completed clinical training in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital and in medical oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. As a postdoctoral fellow, he identified double PIK3CA mutations as an oncogenic alteration, a discovery that has advanced from bench to bedside as a cancer genomic biomarker.

His research awards include the 2023 NIH Director’s New Innovator Award (DP2), the NIH/NCI Mentored Clinical Scientist Development Award (K08), the Susan G. Komen Career Catalyst Research Grant, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) NextGen Star, and the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) Young Physician-Scientist Award. Dr. Vasan is an active clinical oncologist treating patients with breast cancer and serves as the scientific advisor for PIK3CA Pathbreakers, a breast cancer patient advocacy group. He is also a member of the planning committee for the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium and a standing member of the Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee (ODAC) for the FDA.

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Experience & accolades

Expertise

  • Breast oncology

Education

  • Yale University
    • PhD, cell biology
    • MD, medicine
  • Harvard University
    • AM, chemistry
    • AB, chemistry

Experience

  • Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons (2021-Present)
    • Assistant professor
  • Weill Cornell Medicine (2018-2021)
    • Instructor in medicine
    • Assistant attending physician
  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (2015-2018)
    • Fellow
  • Massachusetts General Hospital (2013-2015)
    • Intern

Awards & distinctions

  • New York Times Magazine New York Super Doctors Rising Star 2025
  • New York Times Magazine New York Super Doctors Rising Star 2024
  • NIH Director’s New Innovator Award, 2024
  • Breast Cancer Alliance Young Investigator Award, 2023
  • New York Times Magazine New York Super Doctors Rising Star 2023
  • Columbia University Irving Medical Center VELOCITY Fellow, 2022
  • Columbia University Irving Medical Center Louis V. Gerstner Jr. Scholar, 2022
  • American Society for Clinical Investigation Young Physician-Scientist Award, 2022
  • New York Times Magazine New York Super Doctors Rising Star 2022
  • American Association of Cancer Research AACR NextGen Star, 2020
  • Food and Drug Administration (FDA) FDA Oncology Educational Fellowship, 2020
  • Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) Emperor of Science Award Mentor, 2018
  • Society for Translational Oncology (STO) STO Fellows' Forum, 2017
  • Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center John Mendelsohn Teaching Award, 2016
  • Yale University School of Medicine Medical Scientist Training Program, 2005-2013
  • Merck Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation Fellowship, 2002
  • National Merit Scholarship Corporation National Merit Scholarship, 2001
  • United States Department of Education Robert C. Byrd Scholarship, 2001
  • United States Department of Education United States Presidential Scholar, 2001

Professional memberships & board positions

  • Associate Editor, Breast Cancer Research, 2023-present
  • Scientific Advisory Board Member, Heligenics, Inc., 2021-2023
  • Peer reviewer, ESMO Handbook of Targeted Therapies and Precision Oncology, 2022
  • Peer reviewer, ASCO Educational Book, 2022
  • SWOG Member, 2021
  • European Society of Medical Oncology Member, 2019
  • AACR Associate Member Council Member, 2016
  • ASCO Trainee Council Member, 2016
  • American Association for Cancer Research Member, 2015
  • American Society of Clinical Oncology Member, 2014
  • American Society for Cell Biology Member, 2008-2011
  • American College of Physicians Member, 2005-2013

Publications