Lauren Baker Banks, MD, PhD
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Areas of Expertise
Conditions I Treat
- Soft tissue sarcomas
- Bone cancers and conditions
My Specialties
- Immunotherapy
Get to Know Me
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.
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.
I'm a sarcoma medical oncologist, which is a cancer doctor who specializes in sarcoma. This includes soft tissue sarcomas (such as Ewing sarcoma and rhabdomyosarcoma) and benign (not cancer) growths that are like sarcoma.
- Assistant Attending Physician
Conditions I Treat
- Soft tissue sarcomas
- Bone cancers and conditions
My Specialties
- Immunotherapy
Education
- MD, University of Pennsylvania
- PhD, University of Pennsylvania
Residencies
- Internal Medicine, Massachusetts General Hospital
Fellowships
- Medical Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Board Certifications
- Internal Medicine, Medical Oncology
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)
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
HMO, EPO PPO, POS, Transplant
In Network Coverage Type
PPO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO
In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO
In Network Coverage Type
HMO
In Network Coverage Type
HMO, PPO
In Network Coverage Type
HMO, EPO PPO, POS
In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO
In Network Coverage Type
POS, EPO, HMO
In Network Coverage Type
State Government
In Network Coverage Type
State Government
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
HMO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO
In Network Coverage Type
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
HMO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO
In Network Coverage Type
State Government
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 EPO
In Network Coverage Type
HMO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO
In Network Coverage Type
EPO
In Network Coverage Type
EPO
In Network Coverage Type
TBD
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO
In Network Coverage Type
Federal Government
In Network Coverage Type
HMO
City Employee Health Plans (Gold and Gold Care)
In Network Coverage Type
Supplemental
In Network Coverage Type
PPO/OAP
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, EPO, HMO
In Network Coverage Type
HMO/EPO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, EPO
In Network Coverage Type
State Government
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, HMO
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS
In Network Coverage Type
PPO, POS, HMO
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. Banks sees patients at one location.
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 Co-Investigated by Dr. Banks
- A Phase 1 Study of DS-2243a in People With Advanced Solid Tumors
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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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.
Lauren Baker Banks 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].