Dr. Jeffrey Drebin

Dr. Jeffrey Drebin, MD, PhD, is a surgeon, scientist, and senior executive leader at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he serves as Chief Physician Executive. In this role, he leads the academic clinical departments, clinical practice plan, hospital-based research, medical education, training programs, and faculty affairs. He partners with Hospital President Shelly Anderson, MPM, in overseeing the clinical enterprise and collaborates with Chief Scientific Officer Ross Levine, MD, on hospital-based laboratory research. Alongside his administrative responsibilities, Dr. Drebin maintains an active surgical practice specializing in pancreatic cancer, gallbladder and bile duct cancers, liver cancer, and stomach cancer.

Dr. Drebin's commitment to oncology is both professional and personal, shaped in part by losing relatives to cancer and by a deep conviction that surgeons can help patients quickly and substantially. He is focused on advancing treatment for gastrointestinal malignancies through the integration of immunotherapy, which harnesses the immune system to fight cancer, and targeted therapy, which directly attacks the altered biochemical pathways in cancer cells. He believes these areas hold significant promise for improving outcomes in pancreatic and other gastrointestinal cancers. MSK's clinical trials program, which he supports, explores how immunotherapy and targeted therapies can be combined with conventional treatments to bring tomorrow's treatments to patients today, while also developing improved methods for early detection.

In his approach to patient care, Dr. Drebin is guided by the principle of honest, accurate communication delivered with a spirit of hopefulness. He recognizes that patients often arrive frightened and makes it a priority to provide clear information grounded in the reality that many people with advanced cancers go on to live well for years after treatment. He chose MSK not only for its standing as the foremost cancer institution in the country, but for its culture of going above and beyond, where clinicians and researchers are simultaneously dedicated to caring for patients and advancing the understanding of cancer.