Christopher A. Klebanoff, MD

Cellular Therapist & Early Drug Development Specialist

Areas of Expertise

My Specialties

Cancer Immunotherapy
Cellular therapy
Breast Medicine

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About Me

What I Do at MSK

Laboratory Head, Human Oncology and Pathogenesis Program (HOPP)
Member Investigator, Center for Cell Engineering

Get To Know Me

I am a medical oncologist and translational researcher whose focus is on providing the best care possible to people with breast cancer. My dual role in the clinical setting and the laboratory allows me to work with my patients to develop more-effective, less-toxic therapies. I strongly believe that this is how we will change the future of cancer care.

The ability to use a patient’s own immune system as a form of cancer treatment — immunotherapy — is revolutionizing how we attack many cancers. My goal is to bring these advances to people with breast cancer, a disease for which we are still discovering immunotherapy’s full potential. To this end, I am a member of the Center for Cell Engineering and the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at Memorial Sloan Kettering, where I am involved in both clinical trials and laboratory research that aim to bring the most promising immunotherapies to our patients. My expertise is in cellular therapy and genetic engineering, immune-stimulating antibodies and hormones (also called cytokines), and cancer vaccines.

Like many others, my family has been impacted by cancer. I have firsthand experience with how devastating a cancer diagnosis can be, and this guides every interaction I have with my patients and their families. It’s my goal to provide them with a full understanding of the nature of their disease, the treatment options available, and the evidence that supports these options. I believe it’s critical to present what can be an overwhelming amount of information and medical jargon in a way that makes sense.

In addition to empowering my patients with knowledge and understanding, I also want to empower them by providing clear ways of accessing and communicating with me and other members of their care team throughout their treatment and follow-up care. I never want my patients to feel isolated or alone. This communication and collaboration helps us focus on making people feel physically better and confident that they are receiving a treatment plan tailored to their individual needs and goals.

My Role at MSK

A cellular therapy specialist is a doctor with special training in using cell therapies to treat health conditions such as cancer. Therapies can include chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy.

An early drug development specialist tests new drugs to treat cancer. They have special training in research studies, known as clinical trials.

My Specialties

Cancer Immunotherapy
Cellular therapy
Breast Medicine

Education

MD, Emory University School of Medicine

Residencies

The Johns Hopkins Hospital

Awards and Honors

Fellows Award for Research Excellence, National Institutes of Health (2013)
Outstanding Postdoctoral Fellow, National Cancer Institute (2011)

Fellowships

National Cancer Institute
National Institutes of Health

Board Certifications

Internal Medicine
Medical Oncology

Insurance Information

Understanding your insurance options is an important part of managing your cancer care. We have relationships with many common healthcare providers and plans.

Aetna

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS, Transplant

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Aetna Medicare Advantage (MTA and NYC retirees only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

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Anthem BCBS and other BCBS licensee plans

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

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Anthem BCBS Health Plus

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

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Anthem Blue Cross Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO, DSN

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Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee Program

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

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Blue Cross Blue Shield states outside of NY/NJ

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS

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Carrum Health

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

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Cigna

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

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Connecticare

In Network Coverage Type
POS, EPO, HMO

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Emblem

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Emblem to learn more.

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Emblem Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

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Emblem Medicare Advantage (Medicare Choice PPO Network and VIP Prime Network Only)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

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Empire Essential

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

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Empire Plan / NYSHIP (Blue Cross/UnitedHealthcare split plan)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

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Fidelis

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Fidelis to learn more.

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Fidelis Managed Medicaid & HARP

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

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Fidelis Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

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First Health

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

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Healthfirst

In Network Coverage Type
EPO, HMO, PPO, POS

Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Healthfirst to learn more.

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Healthfirst Managed Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

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Healthfirst Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO

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Healthsmart

In Network Coverage Type
PPO EPO

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Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (HMO)

In Network Coverage Type
HMO

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Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey (PPO)

In Network Coverage Type
PPO

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Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier I (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

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Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield New Jersey Omnia Tier II (EPO)

In Network Coverage Type
EPO

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Horizon Medicare Advantage

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

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Husky CT Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

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Magnacare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO

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Straight NJ Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

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Straight NY Medicaid

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

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Medicare Part A&B (traditional Medicare)

In Network Coverage Type
Federal Government

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Multiplan/Beech Street/PHCS

In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental

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MVP

In Network Coverage Type
PPO/OAP

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Non-Participating Plans with Out of Network Benefits

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO

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NYC Medicare Advantage Plus for City Employees

In Network Coverage Type
TBD

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Oscar

In Network Coverage Type
HMO/EPO

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Oxford

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, EPO

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World Trade Center Health Program (WTC)

In Network Coverage Type
State Government

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Qualcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

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Tricare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO

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UMR

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS

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United Healthcare

In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO

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Don't see your carrier or plan? We can help you understand your coverage.

If you don't have health insurance or are worried that your care may not be fully covered, our financial assistance programs may be able to help.

If you have questions about insurance, call us at 646-497-9176.

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New Patients

Scheduling an appointment is easy. Click or call 646-497-9064— we’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

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Current Patients

Request an appointment by logging on to MyMSK or calling your doctor’s office. If you aren’t registered for MyMSK, call 646-227-2593 for your Enrollment ID.

Contact and Location

Dr. Klebanoff sees patients at one location.

Office Phone

646-888-4593

Location

New York, NY

Looking to see a doctor at a different location? See all MSK locations.

Colleagues

Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering work as teams, with specialists from all different areas. This allows us to consider all your needs together, and to give you the best possible care.

See all Cellular Therapy Service doctors

See all Early Drug Development Service doctors

Clinical Trials

Find a Clinical Trial for You

Memorial Sloan Kettering's doctors and scientists are constantly developing new treatments for cancer. MSK is typically running hundreds of clinical trials at a given time.

You may be able to participate in a clinical trial even if you are new to MSK. Search our online directory to find trial information and see more about who can participate.

Search clinical trials

Research and Publications

View Dr. Klebanoff's Lab

Klebanoff CA, Rosenberg SA, Restifo NP. Prospects for gene-engineered T cell immunotherapy for solid cancers. Nat Med. 2016 Jan;22(1):26-36. PMID: 26735408

Klebanoff CA, Restifo NP. Customizing Functionality and Payload Delivery for Receptor-Engineered T Cells. Cell. 2016 Oct 6;167(2):304-306. PMID: 27716501

Klebanoff CA, Scott CD, Leonardi AJ, Yamamoto TN, Cruz AC, Ouyang C, Ramaswamy M, Roychoudhuri R, Ji Y, Eil RL, Sukumar M, Crompton JG, Palmer DC, Borman ZA, Clever D, Thomas SK, Patel S, Yu Z, Muranski P, Liu H, Wang E, Marincola FM, Gros A, Gattinoni L, Rosenberg SA, Siegel RM, Restifo NP. Memory T cell-driven differentiation of naive cells impairs adoptive immunotherapy. J Clin Invest. 2016 Jan;126(1):318-34. PMID: 26657860

Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Klebanoff’s journal articles. Pubmed is an online index of research papers and other articles from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

See all on PubMed

Disclosures

Doctors and faculty members often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community.

MSK requires doctors and faculty members to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public.

Christopher A. Klebanoff discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

Achilles Therapeutics
Equity; Professional Services and Activities
Affini-T Therapeutics
Equity; Intellectual Property Rights; Professional Services and Activities
Aleta Biotherapeutics
Professional Services and Activities

Catamaran Bio, Inc.
Intellectual Property Rights; Professional Services and Activities
Intima Bioscience, Inc.
Intellectual Property Rights
Obsidian Therapeutics
Professional Services and Activities

If you’re a patient at MSK and would like more information about your doctor’s external relationships, please talk with your doctor.

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2023 through disclosure submission in spring 2024). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at [email protected].

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