Ross L. Levine, MD - MSK Leukemia Specialist & Physician-Scientist

I am a physician-scientist focused on researching and treating blood and bone marrow cancers, including acute myeloid leukemia and the chronic myeloproliferative neoplasms polycythemia vera, essential thrombocytosis, and primary myelofibrosis.

Taking care of leukemia patients during my residency and fellowship inspired my interest in the disease. I saw that while our treatments could be quite effective the first go-round, many leukemia patients relapse. That got me thinking about how we could better understand why leukemia develops and how we could create new, targeted treatments to improve outcomes.

When I am not running my research lab (more information on that here), I treat people with leukemia on an inpatient basis. I do approximately 30 procedures a year, most of which are bone marrow biopsies.

Most people feel overwhelmed when they are first diagnosed, so our job is to give them the information they need and to show them that a whole team of experts is here to help them through the process. My hope is that patients leave our interactions feeling empowered and hopeful.

Outside of work, I love spending time with my family, playing tennis and squash, and rooting for the New York Mets!

For general information, call Memorial Sloan Kettering at 212-639-2000, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To make an appointment, call us at 833-501-3141, Monday through Friday between 8:30 AM and 5:30 PM ET.