Meet Leukemia Expert Martin Tallman
Meet Leukemia Expert Martin Tallman
Martin S. Tallman, MD
Hematologic Oncologist
Titles
Chief of Leukemia Service; Cassidy Family Endowed Faculty Chair
Clinical Expertise
Acute and Chronic Leukemias; Myelodysplastic Syndromes; Myeloproliferative Neoplasms; Stem Cell Transplantation; Hairy Cell Leukemia; Development of New Therapies
New Patient Appointments
Scheduling a visit is easy. Click below or call us to get started.
Dr. Tallman accepts the following list of insurance providers. Select your insurance provider to see more details.
Memorial Sloan Kettering is an in-network provider with Aetna HMO, POS, and PPO plans. Aetna does not include us in any of the plans you can purchase through the insurance exchanges or through Medicare. Please ask your insurance if you need a one-time referral.
In New York State
Memorial Sloan Kettering is an in-network provider with Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield (Wellpoint) of New York HMO, EPO, PPO, and POS plans, with the following exceptions:
- Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield does not include us in any of the plans you can buy through the insurance exchanges.
- Memorial Sloan Kettering is not an in-network provider for Empire's Medicare Managed Care plan known as Mediblue).
- The Empire Indemnity Plan provides limited coverage for our services.
Memorial Sloan Kettering is a designated Center of Excellence by Blue Cross Blue Shield.
In New Jersey
Memorial Sloan Kettering is an in-network provider with some Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey plans for individuals, families, and small businesses. For example, the PPO plan is in-network with our Manhattan locations.
Horizon Blue Cross HMO is only in-network with our Basking Ridge, Bergen and Monmouth locations. It does not allow access to our Manhattan facilities.
Horizon Blue Cross PPO is in network with our Basking Ridge, Bergen, Monmouth and Manhattan locations.
OMNIA Plans: Tier I EPO based plan policy is only in-network with our Basking Ridge, Bergen and Monmouth locations and does not allow access to our Manhattan sites. Tier II EPO is only in-network with our Manhattan sites if it is a blue-card plan (there would be a suitcase logo indicating PPO on the front of the card).
Other plans may only be in-network at our Basking Ridge, Bergen or Monmouth locations.
Outside New York State and New Jersey
Some, but not all, Blue Cross Blue Shield plans outside of New York and New Jersey include Memorial Sloan Kettering as an in-network provider. Contact your insurance to find out if your plan provides in-network access to Memorial Sloan Kettering.
Memorial Sloan Kettering is an in-network provider with CIGNA's HMO, POS, and PPO plans. CIGNA does not include us in any of the plans you can buy through the insurance exchanges.
- If you are a New York State resident: Please ask your insurance if you need a one-time referral.
- If you live outside of New York State: Please ask your insurance if you have in-network access to Memorial Sloan Kettering.
Memorial Sloan Kettering is a designated Center of Excellence by Blue Cross Blue Shield.
Memorial Sloan Kettering is an in-network provider with EmblemHealth’s PPO, EPO, POS, and HMO plans as well as their Enhanced Care Prime Network, which supports Medicaid Managed Care and Child Health Plus and Medicare plans. Memorial Sloan Kettering is also in-network with the New York State Essential Emblem Health plan, which can be purchased on the insurance exchange. Emblem Health does not include us in any of its Medicare plans or in any of its Select Care network plans. You must bring a referral from your Emblem primary care doctor to your first appointment.
Formerly known as Health Plus Amerigroup, Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield Health Plus is an in-network provider with Memorial Sloan Kettering. You will need a one-time referral from your primary care doctor.
We understand that there may be many complexities involved with insurance coverage purchased through the health exchange network of the Affordable Care Act. We're here to help. If you have questions about how your care will be covered by an insurance provider, or need help navigating a change in coverage, please call us at 646-227-3378; if you are not a resident of New York, you can call us at 866-248-1274. Our team is here to listen to your concerns and assist you in any way we can. We want our care to be as accessible and affordable for as many people as possible.
Memorial Sloan Kettering is an in-network provider with HealthSmart’s Accel, HSPC, and HPO networks.
Memorial Sloan Kettering is a designated Center of Excellence by Humana.
Memorial Sloan Kettering is a designated Center of Excellence by Interlink Health Services.
Memorial Sloan Kettering is a designated Center of Excellence by Lifetrac.
Memorial Sloan Kettering is an in-network provider for all MagnaCare health plans except those products you can buy through the insurance exchanges.
New York State Medicaid covers physician and hospital services at Memorial Sloan Kettering. Patients are responsible for co-payments.
We also have contractual relationships involving Medicaid Managed Care plans. MSK is an in-network provider with Medicaid NY Emblem Health (formerly known as HIP) and Medicaid NY Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield HealthPlus (formerly known as Amerigroup). You will need a one-time referral from your primary care doctor.
Hospital and physician services at Memorial Sloan Kettering are covered by standard Medicare insurance. You are responsible for co-insurance and deductible costs.
In New York: Memorial Sloan Kettering’s New York locations are in-network with the Emblem Medicare Advantage Plans.
In New Jersey: Memorial Sloan Kettering’s New Jersey locations in Basking Ridge, Bergen and Monmouth are in-network with the Horizon Medicare Advantage Plan. This plan is not accepted for care provided at MSK’s New York locations.
If you are enrolled in any other Medicare Advantage plan, please contact your insurance carrier to determine your benefits and coverage at Memorial Sloan Kettering since your access may be limited.
Memorial Sloan Kettering is an in-network provider with some Multiplan/Beech Street/PHCS plans. Contact your insurance carrier to find out if your plan provides in-network access to Memorial Sloan Kettering.
Memorial Sloan Kettering is a designated Center of Excellence by Multiplan.
If you are covered by more than one insurance plan, you will want to determine your benefits from both plans. First, you need to determine which one is your primary insurance provider by contacting your employee benefits office or your insurance carriers. After you find out which is your primary insurance provider, you should then contact your insurance carrier to determine if you have access to Memorial Sloan Kettering.
Memorial Sloan Kettering is an in-network provider with some MVP plans. Contact your insurance carrier to find out if your plan provides in-network access to Memorial Sloan Kettering.
Memorial Sloan Kettering is an in-network provider for New York State employees who have enrolled in UnitedHealthcare's Cancer Resource Services. If you have the Empire Plan, you should call Cancer Resources Services at 866-936-6002 to verify and enroll in this coverage.
Memorial Sloan Kettering is in-network with Oscar's Circle Plus Network, a part of its Small Group Broad line that is offered only to select small business groups. Oscar does not include Memorial Sloan Kettering as an in-network provider for any of its individual plans. Please confirm eligibility with your insurance carrier.
We have agreements with several insurance companies that may provide additional coverage for cancer patients. These benefit programs include:
- AXA Assistance USA
- Beech Street
- Integrated Health Plans
- National Health Administrators
- National Preferred Provider Network
- UnitedHealthcare's Cancer Resource Services
- United Resource Network
- Veterans Choice Program
Memorial Sloan Kettering is an in-network provider with Oxford’s Freedom and Liberty plans as well as the Metro Plan (which is only offered to small business groups and no longer offered as individual plans). Please confirm with your insurance if you need a one-time referral. Note: Oxford's Medicare Managed Care plan — Secure Horizon — does not include Memorial Sloan Kettering as an in-network provider. Oxford does not include us in any of the plans you can buy through the insurance exchanges.
Memorial Sloan Kettering is an in-network provider with QualCare's PPO and HMO/POS network.
Memorial Sloan Kettering is a designated Center of Excellence by Specialty Care Management.
Hospital and physician services at Memorial Sloan Kettering are covered by TRICARE. You are responsible for co-insurance and deductible costs.
Memorial Sloan Kettering is an in-network provider with UnitedHealthCare's HMO, POS, and PPO plans. Please confirm with your insurance if a one-time referral is needed.
UnitedHealthCare's Medicare Managed Care plan does not include Memorial Sloan Kettering as an in-network provider.
United does not include us in any of the plans you can buy through the insurance exchanges.
Memorial Sloan Kettering is a designated Center of Excellence by UnitedHealthcare.
Memorial Sloan Kettering is an in-network provider with the World Trade Center Health Program.
Contact and Location
- 212-639-3849 Office Phone
- Speaks English and French

Memorial Sloan Kettering has locations throughout New York City, Long Island, New Jersey, and Westchester. These locations offers many services, including screening, chemotherapy, and medical testing.
See all locationsAbout Me
Education
MD, Chicago Medical School
Residencies
Internal Medicine - Northwestern University/Evanston Hospital/McGaw Medical Center
Fellowships
Hematology/Oncology - University of Washington
Board Certifications
Internal Medicine; Medical Oncology; Hematology
I am a board-certified hematologist and oncologist and Chief of the Leukemia Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Read more
Memorial Sloan Kettering has a very distinguished history in the development of cutting-edge effective therapies for a wide variety of leukemias. Physicians at Memorial Sloan Kettering were among the first to develop effective therapies for patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, acute myeloid leukemia, and acute promyelocytic leukemia.
My clinical expertise is in treating patients with acute myeloid leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia, but I also see patients with the chronic leukemias and myelodysplastic syndromes. My patient-care philosophy is to always imagine every patient as a member of my own family. With this in mind, I know I am going to make the best decisions I can for each patient.
Not all acute and chronic leukemias are alike. As we learn more about these diseases, we are discovering that leukemia cells from different patients have many different genetic abnormalities. My research has been focused on developing novel treatments using drugs that target specific molecular genetic abnormalities in leukemia cells. I am particularly sensitive to the importance of developing new treatments for older adults with leukemia, treatments that are more specific to the leukemia cell and therefore will be less toxic to normal cells so that patients have fewer side effects.
The Leukemia Service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center is in an excellent position to take advantage of new findings about the genetic underpinnings of leukemias and to develop new and better treatments. We have many physicians focused on leukemia who have the clinical and laboratory expertise to carry out clinical trials evaluating the effectiveness of new so-called targeted therapies, and we have developed a large number of clinical trials to evaluate these agents.
Before joining Memorial Sloan Kettering, I was on the faculty of Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center for more than 20 years. There I directed the Leukemia Program, was Co-Director of the Hematologic Malignancy Program at the Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, and was Associate Chief of the Division of Hematology-Oncology. I completed fellowship training at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and University of Washington at Seattle.
I am an Associate Editor for the journal Blood, the major periodical publishing new information regarding leukemias and other blood disorders. I am currently Chair of the Leukemia Committee of the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG), one of only three large cooperative oncology groups in the US responsible for coordinating large clinical trials of new therapies for patients with all of the acute and chronic leukemias, myelodysplastic syndromes, and myeloproliferative neoplasms. The ECOG, in collaboration with other cooperative oncology groups in the US and around the world, has carried out many important clinical trials which have set the standard of care for the most effective treatment of many of the leukemias and related disorders.
Awards and Honors
- Castle Connolly: New York Magazine Top Doctors (2011-2018)
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
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Clinical Trials Investigated by Dr. Tallman
- A Phase IIB Study of BST-236 in Patients with Newly Diagnosed Acute Myeloid Leukemia
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Clinical Trials Co-Investigated by Dr. Tallman
- A Phase I Study of AMG 397 in Patients with Recurrent or Persistent Multiple Myeloma or Acute Myeloid Leukemia
- A Phase I Study of BAY 2402234 in Patients with Advanced Myeloid Cancers
- A Phase I Study of DS-3201b for Patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia or Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Read more
- A Phase I Study of Oral AG-120 to Treat Advanced Acute Myeloid Leukemia or Myelodysplastic Syndromes with an IDH1 Mutation
- A Phase IB/II Study of Venetoclax plus Liposomal Vincristine in Patients with Recurrent or Persistent T-Cell or B-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
- A Phase II Study of SY-1425 (Tamibarotene) in Patients with Recurrent or Persistent Acute Myeloid Leukemia or Myelodysplastic Syndromes
- A Phase II Study of Vemurafenib plus Obinutuzumab in Patients with Previously Untreated Classical Hairy Cell Leukemia
- A Phase III Study of Asciminib versus Bosutinib in Patients with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia in Chronic Phase
- A Phase III Study of Crenolanib or Midostaurin after Induction and Consolidation Chemotherapy for Patients with Newly Diagnosed Acute Myeloid Leukemia

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. Tallman’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.
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