Lauren Baker Banks, MD, PhD
Sarcoma Oncologist
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About Me
- Assistant Attending Physician
I am a medical oncologist who cares for people with bone and soft tissue sarcomas. I work with a talented group of sarcoma experts across medical specialties, like surgery and radiation oncology, who are at the forefront of biomedical research and continue to advance patient care through innovation. Our goal is to provide patient-centered treatment plans that prioritize individual needs and excellent care.
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In addition, I am a translational researcher committed to developing more targeted and less toxic therapies for patients with solid tumors using their own immune system. Translational researchers like me study new therapies and treatment methods, with the goal of bringing them from the laboratory to the clinic.
To that end, I am actively working in the lab to identify ways to redirect a specific kind of immune cell (a T cell), to target and destroy sarcoma cells, helping us stop cancer growth and spread. I am currently working to develop T cell receptor therapies in desmoplastic small round cell tumor (DSRCT) and hope to extend this approach to other sarcomas.
Although T-cell based therapies are promising against some solid tumors, we are still trying to understand which patients would benefit most from this form of treatment. To do so, I am also exploring why some people with sarcoma:
- Develop resistance to T cell-based therapies or
- Do not respond to T cell-based therapies
By answering these questions, we hope to improve current and future T-cell based therapies in sarcoma and further personalize our treatment plans.
A sarcoma oncologist is a cancer doctor with special training in sarcoma. This includes soft tissue sarcomas (such as Ewing sarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma) and benign (not cancer) growths that are like sarcoma.
Education
- MD, University of Pennsylvania
- PhD, University of Pennsylvania
Residencies
- Internal Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital
Awards and Honors
- CRI Irvington Postdoctoral Fellowship, Cancer Research Institute, Bristol Myers Squibb (2023)
- Young Investigator Award, Conquer Cancer Foundation of the American Society of Clinical Oncology, Janssen Oncology (2021)
Fellowships
- Medical Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Board Certifications
- Internal Medicine, Medical Oncology
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Contact and Location
Dr. Banks sees patients at one location.
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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
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
Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Banks’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
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