Memorial Sloan-Kettering has announced the creation of the Molecular Diagnostics Service in the Department of Pathology and named Marc Ladanyi the service's first Chief. The mission of the new service will be to provide state-of-the-art molecular genetic and cytogenetic testing to guide patient care at Memorial Hospital.
The service will comprise and integrate the functions of three already established entities: the Laboratory of Diagnostic Molecular Pathology, the Laboratory of Clinical Cytogenetics, and the Laboratory of Diagnostic Molecular Genetics (which performs cancer predisposition testing).
Dr. Ladanyi is a molecular pathologist whose research laboratory works on defining and better understanding the specific genetic changes in bone and soft-tissue cancers arising in children and young adults. His group also pursues molecular pathology studies in mesothelioma and more recently in lung cancer. His major contributions are in the field of gene fusions caused by chromosomal translocations, especially in sarcomas. He earned his MD degree from McGill University in Montreal, where he also began his training in pathology. He completed his postgraduate training with several fellowships at Memorial Sloan-Kettering. He joined Memorial Sloan-Kettering's staff in 1993.
"The new Molecular Diagnostics Service will face myriad challenges as new diagnostic targets are identified through human cancer genomics efforts both at the Center and elsewhere," said Robert E. Wittes, Physician-in-Chief of Memorial Hospital. "I am confident that Dr. Ladanyi's leadership and expertise in the field of molecular pathology will ensure that this service will make important contributions to the care of cancer patients at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center."
In addition to Dr. Ladanyi, other members of the new service will be Violetta V. Barbashina, Cyrus V. Hedvat, Suresh C. Jhanwar, Khedoudja Nafa, and Liying Zhang.
