Robert E. Merritt, MD
Dr. Robert E. Merritt is a general thoracic surgeon, professor, and director of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at Ohio State University. He has special expertise in minimally invasive surgery in the treatment of lung cancer and thoracic malignancies, including pleural mesothelioma. His clinical interests include primary lung carcinoma, esophageal carcinoma, thymic malignancies, primary tumors of the chest wall, tracheal tumors, and secondary lung carcinoma.[1]
Education and Career
Dr. Merritt attended medical school at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University. He completed his internship and residency in General Surgery at New York-Presbyterian Hospital and followed that training with a fellowship in Thoracic Surgery and another in Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts.
Dr. Merritt is currently a general thoracic surgeon at the Ohio State University James Comprehensive Cancer Center. He is the Director of the Division of Thoracic Surgery and an Associate Professor of Surgery. He also serves as the director of inpatient services at The James Cancer Hospital,
Dr. Merritt’s areas of expertise include thoracotomy, pneumonectomy, bronchoscopy, and video-assisted thoracic surgery. When removing lung tumors and tumors of the mediastinum, Dr. Merritt utilizes robotic-assisted thoracic surgery procedures that are much less invasive. Robotic surgery promotes rapid healing with fewer adverse side effects, fewer infections, and shorter hospital stays.
Dr. Merritt has been named to the Castle Connolly list of Regional Top Doctors and rated in the top ten percent of physicians in the nation for patient satisfaction. He sees patients as part of a multidisciplinary team.
He has published numerous studies in professional, peer-reviewed journals, including Nature Medicine, The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Thoracic Surgery Clinics, The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, Journal for Immunotherapy of Cancer, and Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry.[1]
Research
Dr. Merritt’s research interests include the study of tumor immunology. He has investigated the role of Cisplatin-mediated upregulation of CD40 ligands in lung cancer cell lines.
He has also performed outcomes research to improve the results of surgical procedures for thoracic malignancies, including pleural mesothelioma.[1]
