Benjamin Medina, MD
Dr. Benjamin Medina is a thoracic surgeon at the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and RWJBarnabas Health. He specializes in thoracic malignancies including lung cancer and malignant pleural mesothelioma, as well as esophageal cancer, mediastinal tumors, and chest wall tumors, using robotic and minimally invasive techniques that minimize pain, shorten hospital stays, and provide patients with faster returns to normal life.[1]
Dr. Medina appreciates the advances that have been made in surgical techniques over the last several years and believes that by taking a multidisciplinary approach to patient care, the team at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey provides patients with better outcomes that are aligned with how far advanced their cancer is, their conditions and personal goals.
Education and Career
Dr. Medina attended undergraduate school at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, where he earned a bachelor of arts in Economics. He earned his medical degree at the Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, then completed an internship and residency in General Surgery at New York University, where he served as the administrative chief resident. Dr. Medina completed a fellowship in tumor immunology and immunotherapy at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, then returned to Memorial Sloan Kettering to complete a Thoracic Surgery Residency that included specialized training in benign esophageal surgery and lung transplantation at New York Presbyterian Columbia and Cornell.[1]
He now serves as an Assistant Professor of Surgery and Thoracic Surgery at RWJBarnabas Health and has authored or co-authored numerous articles that have been published in prestigious journals including Nature, the Journal of Experimental Medicine, the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Clinical Cancer Research, and the Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.
Research
Dr. Medina’s research is focused on immunotherapy and targeted molecular therapy, and he hopes to expand his research to explore the role of surgery with immunotherapy and targeted therapies in the neoadjuvant or adjuvant setting for patients with operable thoracic malignancies.
His recent publications include:[2]
Oncogene inhibition activates anti-tumoral IL-17A+ T cells in the gastrointestinal stromal tumor microenvironment.
Description: Etherington M, Hanna A, Medina BD, Liu M, Tieniber A, Levin L, Do K, Rossi F, DeMatteo RP.
Percutaneous dilational tracheostomy at the epicenter of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: Impact on critical care resource utilization and early outcomes.
Description:Krosowski L, Medina B, DiMaggio C, Hong C, Moore S, Straznitskas A, Rogers C, Mukherjee V, Uppa A, Frangos S, Bukur M.
Oncogenic Kit modulates type I interferon tumor immunity in GIST.
Description: Liu M, Etherington M, Hanna A, Medina BD, Vitiello GA, Bowler TG, Param NJ, Levin L, Rossi F, DeMatteo RP. 2021 May; 9(5):542-553.
The V654A second-site KIT mutation increases tumor oncogenesis and STAT activation in a mouse model of gastrointestinal stromal tumor. Oncogene.
Description: Zhang JQ, Bosbach B, Loo JK, Vitiello GA, Zeng S, Seifert AM, Medina BD, Param NJ, Maltbaek JH, Rossi F, Antonescu CR, Besmer P, DeMatteo RP. 2020 Dec; 39(49):7153-7165.
Metastasectomy for melanoma is associated with improved overall survival in responders to targeted molecular or immunotherapy. Journal of Surgical Oncology.
Description: Medina BD, Choi BH, Rodogiannis KG, Moran U, Shapiro RL, Pavlick A, Osman I, Berman RS, Lee AY. 2020 Sep 122(3);555-561.
Committees and Professional Memberships
Dr. Medina is a member of the American College of Surgeons and the Society of Thoracic Surgeons.
