Geoffrey Y. Ku, MD

I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. I completed an internal medicine residency at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital at Weill Cornell, followed by a medical oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK). I also spent an additional year at the Ludwig Center for Cancer Immunotherapy at MSK. My research in that time focused on translational correlative assays for the then new field of immunotherapy.

Now, my research focuses on developing new treatments for people with esophageal and gastric cancers. I am interested in exploring the combination of chemotherapy and radiation to treat esophageal cancer. I am also investigating cellular therapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapies both to cure and to minimize the symptoms of cancer.  

I feel truly privileged to be at MSK. It is a unique and empowering experience to work at an institution whose sole focus is the treatment of cancer and the exploration of ways to improve cancer therapy. We attract staff members from all over the world; all of us have the same focus and dedication to providing expert cancer care.

On a personal note, my team and I strive to treat each patient as an individual. We care for our patients in the same way that we would want our dearest family members and friends to be cared for. I recognize that I am meeting patients and their families at a time of great physical and emotional vulnerability and do my best to uphold the trust and confidence they have in us.

I am currently Head of the Esophagogastric Section in the Gastrointestinal Oncology Service. Since 2020, I have also held an appointment on the Cellular Therapy Service, where we are investigating novel cellular therapies, such as chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cell therapy.

Outside of MSK, I have served as a member of the Gastrointestinal Non-Colorectal Cancer Track for the Scientific Program Committee of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). I was privileged to serve as the Track Leader for 2015–2016. I am currently a member of the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI’s) Esophagogastric Task Force and NRG Oncology’s Gastrointestinal Non-Colorectal Cancer Core Committee. I was also recently part of a panel organized by the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) to help develop guidelines for the use of immunotherapy in gastrointestinal cancers.