Sam Yoon
Sam Yoon has been the Division of Surgical Oncology Chief and Vice-Chair of Surgical Oncology Research and Education at Columbia University Irving Medical Center since 2021. A globally acknowledged authority on sarcomas, stomach, and gastroesophageal junction cancers, as well as gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs), his expertise plays a critical role in the battle against gastric cancer, a top killer worldwide with more than a million new cases and 750,000 deaths annually.
Trusted for Exceptional Care
His reputation for providing exceptional and compassionate care has attracted numerous patients from the tristate area to his practice. He has been repeatedly named one of the Best Doctors in America from 2010 to 2011 and 2017 to 2020. He offers his services at CUIMC/Herbert Irving Pavilion in New York City, at facilities in Bronxville, Cortland Manor in New York, and Englewood, New Jersey.
Education and Training
He embarked on his educational path at Harvard University, earning his undergraduate degree. He obtained his medical degree from the University of California, San Diego. He completed a general surgery residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. Then, he pursued a fellowship in surgical oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, an institution renowned for its comprehensive cancer research and treatment programs.
Professional Background
Before his roles at CUIMC, he was an attending surgeon at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s Division of Gastric and Mixed Tumors. He served as a Professor of Surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College. Earlier in his career, he was an Associate Professor of Surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School before moving to Memorial Sloan Kettering in 2012.
Surgical Innovations and Research
He is at the forefront of minimally invasive robotic surgery, having performed over 300 such surgeries, including advanced robotic gastrectomies. This approach allows for smaller incisions and utilizes cutting-edge robotic technology for more precise operations.
Dr. Sam Yoon also developed a groundbreaking surgical technique for treating patients with hereditary diffuse gastric cancer (HDGC) syndrome caused by germline CDH1 mutations, which is acclaimed for its low rate of complications and is now widely adopted by surgeons throughout the United States.
Additionally, he is involved in significant research funded by Stand Up To Cancer and the DeGregorio Family Foundation for Gastric and Esophageal Cancer Research. In 2019, he led a collaborative project with a peer from the University of Pennsylvania that received a $100,000 grant from the DeGregorio Family Foundation. In 2020, his research team at Columbia was awarded a $3 million grant to develop earlier diagnostic tests for gastric cancer.
He is a prolific contributor to the medical literature, with over 150 published original research articles, book chapters, and reviews. He has been a member of the editorial boards for the Annals of Surgical Oncology and the Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery.
Awards and Recognition
He has received numerous prestigious awards, including the American College of Surgeons/Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract Health Policy Scholar Award (2019-2020), several Teacher of the Year awards from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the 2017 Paper of the Year Award from the New England Surgical Society, the Josef E. Fischer International Traveling Fellowship Award for Surgeons in Academic Practice, and the Clinical Investigator Award from the Society for Surgery of the Alimentary Tract (2009-2011).
Interests Outside of Medicine
Due to his proximity to a golf course during his childhood, a lifelong golf enthusiast finds the sport an excellent way to unwind and maintain social connections. More recently, he has also taken up woodworking, which allows him to creatively engage his hands and mind, crafting unique pieces he proudly shares on Instagram.
In his professional pursuits and personal activities, Sam Yoon is consistently dedicated to pushing the boundaries of surgical oncology, enhancing patient care, and contributing to the broader medical community through his innovative approaches and research endeavors.