New York – September 21, 2026 -- NYU Langone Health's Perlmutter Cancer Center has appointed Rutika Mehta, MD, MPH, as director of upper GI medical oncology, expanding its clinical and research programs for esophageal and stomach cancers.
Mehta brings a clinical trials portfolio built at two prior academic centers
Mehta joins from Weill Cornell Medicine, where she established an Upper GI Working Group to advance clinical and research collaboration. She previously helped build the Upper GI Malignancies Program at Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa, Florida, developing a clinical trials portfolio that gave patients access to new treatment options.
Molecular profiling and circulating tumor DNA tests anchor her research focus
Her work centers on personalizing cancer treatment through detailed tumor biology testing and blood-based circulating tumor DNA tests to guide patients toward therapies most likely to benefit them. She has particular expertise in HER2-positive gastroesophageal cancers and participated in the clinical development of zanidatamab, a HER2-targeted therapy.
New role pairs medical oncology with complex GI surgical expertise
Mehta will work closely with Noah A. Cohen, MD, section chief of complex GI surgical oncology, to strengthen multidisciplinary care and expand clinical research opportunities within the Gastrointestinal Cancer Center. The center integrates specialists across medical oncology, surgery, radiation oncology, gastroenterology, pathology, radiology, nutrition, and supportive care.
National task force role shapes upper GI research strategy
Mehta serves on the National Cancer Institute's Upper GI Task Force, which helps shape national clinical research strategies for upper GI cancers. Manuel Hidalgo Medina, MD, co-director of the GI Cancer Center, said Mehta's expertise and experience developing clinical trials will strengthen access to innovative treatments while advancing research to improve outcomes.
At Perlmutter, Mehta will expand clinical trials available to patients with upper GI cancers, including investigator-initiated studies and trials evaluating new targeted and biomarker-driven therapies. She also works with patient advocacy organizations Debbie's Dream Foundation and Hope for Stomach Cancer on educational programs and community events focused on GI cancers.