James W. Smithy, MD, MHS
Melanoma Medical Oncologist & Cellular Therapist
My Role at MSKWe post reviews for MSK healthcare providers who have at least 30 patient experience surveys completed. If you do not see reviews for a provider, it may be because they do not yet have enough survey responses, or the provider may not be part of the group of healthcare providers included in the survey.
Only outpatient providers are included in the survey. Healthcare providers who only work in the hospital or in urgent care are not included in the survey. Pathologists or researchers who do not provide direct care to patients do not have reviews.
About Me
- Assistant Attending Physician
I am a medical oncologist focused exclusively on treating patients with melanoma. I see patients at the Rockefeller Outpatient Pavilion and the David H. Koch Center for Cancer Care at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer (MSK) in Manhattan.
In my clinical practice, I work with an expert team of surgeons, radiation oncologists, nurses, and administrative staff. Together, we aim to provide effective, evidence-based melanoma care tailored to each patient’s unique goals and preferences. In each visit, I prioritize discussing the ways that patients can access innovative treatments. This includes therapies approved for the treatment of melanoma, as well as clinical trials of promising new approaches.
Read more
As a clinical investigator, my research is focused on advancing the next generation of immunotherapies to treat melanoma. I develop and lead clinical trials and collaborate with pathologists and computational biologists to analyze melanoma tissue and better understand how these therapies work. I am currently investigating new combinations of immune checkpoint inhibitors (a type of immunotherapy), including giving checkpoint inhibitors with cancer vaccines. I am also a member of MSK’s Cellular Therapy Service, where our team is investigating adoptive cell therapy with tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) for some people whose melanoma has not responded to other treatments. TIL therapy is an immunotherapy that uses a patient’s immune cells to kill cancer.
Having grown up on Long Island, it is a privilege to take care of people from diverse communities across the New York metropolitan area and beyond. I strive to get to know my patients on a personal level and partner with them to develop treatment plans in which they feel confident.
A melanoma medical oncologist is a cancer doctor who specializes in melanoma. This includes superficial spreading, nodular, lentigo maligna, and acral lentiginous melanomas, as well as eye, mucosal, and rare skin melanomas.
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.
My Specialties
- Melanoma
- Immunotherapy
- Cellular Therapy
Education
- MD, Yale School of Medicine
- MHS, Yale School of Medicine
Residencies
- Internal Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital
- Chief Residency, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Awards and Honors
- NCCN Foundation Young Investigator Award, National Comprehensive Cancer Network (2024)
- Conquer Cancer Foundation Merit Award, American Society of Clinical Oncology (2023)
- Seligson Thesis Prize, Yale School of Medicine (2017)
- Miriam Kathleen Dasey Award, Yale School of Medicine (2017)
- William R. Belknap Prize, Yale College (2010)
Fellowships
- Medical Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Board Certifications
- Medical Oncology
- Internal Medicine
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.
In Network Coverage Type
PPO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO, DSN
In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO
In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO
Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Emblem to learn more.
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO
In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO
Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Fidelis to learn more.
In Network Coverage Type
EPO, HMO, PPO, POS
Offers a qualified health plan from the Health Insurance Marketplace. Call Healthfirst to learn more.
In Network Coverage Type
HMO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO
In Network Coverage Type
EPO
In Network Coverage Type
EPO
In Network Coverage Type
Federal Government
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO
In Network Coverage Type
State Government
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.
Make an Appointment
Contact and Location
Dr. Smithy sees patients at two locations.
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.
Clinical Trials
- Clinical Trials Investigated by Dr. Smithy
- A Phase 2 Study of Fianlimab, Cemiplimab, and Ipilimumab in People With Advanced Melanoma
- A Phase 2 Study of IO102/IO103, Nivolumab, and Relatlimab Immunotherapy in People With Melanoma
- A Phase 2 Study of Patritumab Deruxtecan (HER3-DXd) in People With Advanced Melanoma
- Clinical Trials Co-Investigated by Dr. Smithy
- A Phase 1 Study of KIN-2787 in People With Advanced Cancers
Read more
- A Phase 1/2 Study of OBX-115 Cell Therapy and Acetazolamide in People With Advanced Melanoma or Lung Cancer
- A Phase 2 Study of L19IL2 and L19TNF With Pembrolizumab in People With Melanoma
- A Phase 2/3 Study of IDE196 (Darovasertib) and Crizotinib Compared to Standard Treatment in Uveal Melanoma
- A Phase I/II Study of DYP688 for People with Advanced Uveal Melanoma and Other Melanomas with GNAQ/11 Gene Mutations
- A Phase I/II Study of IOV-4001 in People with Inoperable or Metastatic Melanoma or Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer
- A Pilot Study of LN-144 Immunotherapy in People with Metastatic Uveal Melanoma
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 trialsResearch and Publications
Smithy JW, Moore LM, Pelekanou V, Rehman J, Gaule P, Wong PF, Neumeister VM, Sznol M, Kluger HM, Rimm DL. Nuclear IRF-1 expression as a mechanism to assess “Capability” to express PD-L1 and response to PD-1 therapy in metastatic melanoma. J Immunother Cancer. 2017 Mar 21;5:25. doi: 10.1186/s40425-017-0229-2. PMID: 28331615; PMCID: PMC5359951.
Smithy JW, Blouin A, Diamond LC, Postow M. Ensuring equity in the era of HLA-restricted cancer therapeutics. J Immunother Cancer. 2022 Nov;10(11):e005600. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2022-005600. PMID: 36442912; PMCID: PMC9710357.
Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Smithy’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 PubMedPatient Reviews
Your trust is our main concern
We strive to keep reviews trustworthy, honest and fair. Learn more about our patient experience reviews.
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.
James W. Smithy discloses the following relationships and financial interests:
No disclosures meeting criteria for time period
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].