Meet MSK Kids Pediatric Neurologist & Neuro-Oncologist Yasmin Khakoo
Meet MSK Kids Pediatric Neurologist & Neuro-Oncologist Yasmin Khakoo
Yasmin Khakoo, MD
Pediatric Neurologist & Neuro-Oncologist
Titles
Director, Child Neurology Program
Clinical Expertise
Pediatric Neuro-Oncology and Neurology
New Patient Appointments
Scheduling a visit is easy. Click below or call us to get started.
Dr. Khakoo 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. MSK has an agreement with the Aetna Transplant Program for all Aetna's commercial products.
Memorial Sloan Kettering is a designated Blue Distinction Center for bone marrow transplant and CAR-T.
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 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 an in-network provider with EmblemHealth’s PPO, EPO, POS, HMO plans. EmblemHealth includes GHI, HIP, Vytra, and ConnecticCare (in NYS Only). You must bring a referral from your Emblem primary care doctor to your first appointment. In-network participation exceptions include:
- Emblem’s HIP Commercial Millennium, Select Care and Enhanced Care Prime networks is not in-network with Memorial Sloan Kettering.
- Please call Emblem to confirm if your specific plan is in-network.
For information regarding Memorial Sloan Kettering’s participation with Emblem’s Medicare Advantage Plans, please refer to the Medicare & Medicaid page
Memorial Sloan Kettering is an in-network provider with Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield (Wellpoint) of New York Indemnity, HMO, EPO, PPO, POS and Medicare Advantage 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.
- Please call Empire BCBS to confirm if your specific plan is in-network with Memorial Sloan Kettering.
Memorial Sloan Kettering is an in-network provider with HealthFirst’s commercial products; these commercial products are not purchased on the insurance exchanges.
Memorial Sloan Kettering is an in-network provider with HealthSmart’s Accel, HSPC, and HPO networks.
For our NJ locations, Memorial Sloan Kettering is an in-network provider with most Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey plans for individuals, families, and small businesses. Horizon members with Blue Card Access (there would be a suitcase logo on the front of the card) may have access to our NY locations. Please call Horizon to confirm if your plan is in-network in NY.
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.
For information about Medicare and Medicaid, please visit this page
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.
Most Blue Cross Blue Shield plans include Memorial Sloan Kettering as an in-network provider. Contact your insurance company to confirm if Memorial Sloan Kettering is in-network.
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 the World Trade Center Health Program.
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 may be covered by TRICARE. Please call your TRICARE plan to confirm coverage at Memorial Sloan Kettering.
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.
Contact and Location
- 212-639-8292 Office Phone
- Speaks English

Memorial Sloan Kettering has locations throughout New York City, Long Island, New Jersey, and Westchester. These locations offer many services, including screening, chemotherapy, and medical testing.
See all locationsAbout Me
Education
MD, Columbia University
Residencies
Pediatrics - University of California San Francisco; Child Neurology - University of California San Francisco
Fellowships
Neuro-Oncology - Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Board Certifications
Pediatrics; Neurology (CAQ in Child Neurology); Neuro-Oncology
I am a board-certified pediatric neurologist and neuro-oncologist on the MSK Kids team who cares for children and young adults with primary brain tumors. As Director of the MSK Kids Child Neurology Program, I have a special interest in the prevention and treatment of nervous system complications in young patients receiving treatment for these tumors and other cancers. My goal is to help preserve neurologic and cognitive function (thinking abilities) in children with cancer so that when therapy is completed, a child can return to school and their family and resume a normal life. I consider myself a guardian of my patients’ nervous systems, and I want them to survive and thrive to be the best they can be.
Along with my colleagues in the Brain Tumor Center at Memorial Sloan Kettering, I am involved in several clinical trials. We are evaluating novel approaches to treating people who are newly diagnosed or have brain tumors that have come back after earlier treatment. I received funding from the Cycle for Survival Foundation to study low-grade gliomas in children as the principal investigator. My MSK colleagues Neal Rosen, Ingo Mellinghoff, and Jeffrey Greenfield and I obtained tumor tissue samples from people having low-grade gliomas surgically removed. In the laboratory, we studied the effects of novel medications on this tumor tissue and helped identify a new drug to treat these tumors.
Read more
I am also conducting research on the development of cerebellar mutism (also called posterior fossa syndrome). This complication is seen in people who have had surgery for medulloblastoma, a type of brain tumor in children. People with this syndrome are unable to speak and may have trouble walking, chewing, eating, and swallowing. I also investigate paraneoplastic syndromes in people with neuroblastoma (opsoclonus myoclonus ataxia syndrome) and other childhood cancers. Such syndromes may impair walking, talking, and eye movements, resulting from these cancers or their treatment.
I specialize in research and the care of children with a rare neurologic condition called neurocutaneous melanocytosis. It is sometimes seen in people with large birthmarks (congenital melanocytic nevi). We recently received funding from the Nevus Outreach advocacy group to maintain a registry of these patients. The goal is to identify those at high risk and better understand why some of them develop melanoma of the central nervous system.
Along with J. J. Boelens and other colleagues in the Pediatric Stem Cell Transplantation and Cellular Therapies Service, I am developing novel treatments for genetic and metabolic diseases that affect the central nervous system. These include adrenoleukodystrophy and metachromatic leukodystrophy.
In addition to my clinical and research responsibilities, I teach and supervise residents and fellows. In 2005, I founded MSK’s Pediatric Neuro-Oncology Fellowship, which I directed from 2005 to 2014. I continue to be heavily involved in running the fellowship. Fellows who train at MSK have the benefit of encountering a large volume of patients cared for by an experienced team of leading clinicians.
I was recently awarded admission into a year-long mentorship program through the American Academy of Neurology. This opportunity will enable me to hone my leadership skills and take the MSK Kids Child Neurology Program to the next level.
Awards and Honors
- Pediatric Neurology Faculty Teaching Award, Weill Cornell Medical College, Department of Neurology (2021)
- Castle Connolly: New York Magazine Best Doctors (2013-2014, 2016-2020)
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. Khakoo
- A Registry for Patients with Neurocutaneous Melanocytosis
- A Study to Collect Health Information about Pediatric-Onset Opsoclonus Myoclonus Ataxia Syndrome (POOMAS)
- Clinical Trials Co-Investigated by Dr. Khakoo
- A Feasibility Study of the Optune Electric Field Device to Treat Children with Recurrent or Persistent Supratentorial High-Grade Gliomas and Ependymomas
- HEAD START 4: A Study of Different Regimens of Induction and Consolidation Chemotherapy with Stem Cell Rescue for Children Newly Diagnosed with Brain and Spinal Cord 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. Khakoo’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 PubMedDisclosures
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.
Yasmin Khakoo 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 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, 2020 through disclosure submission in spring 2021). 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].