Dr. Abu-Rustum is being honored with the IGCS Excellence in Teaching Award for his work and accomplishments that have set a standard of excellence in training our next generation. He is recognized as a pioneer in surgery to treat cervical cancer and a leader in sentinel lymph node mapping, a novel approach adopted by many oncology practices nationally and internationally, in cervical and uterine cancer. His tireless energy spent with residents, fellows, and his own faculty as well as international collaborations, teaching positions, and extensive publications highlight his contributions to the specialty and lasting influence on future generations of gynecologic oncologists.
About Dr. Abu-Rustum
Nadeem R. Abu-Rustum, MD, is the Chief of the Gynecology Service and Avon Chair in Gynecologic Oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He also serves Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Weill Cornell Medical College.
Dr. Abu-Rustum received his medical degree from the American University of Beirut in Lebanon. He completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center in Maryland and a fellowship in gynecologic oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Dr. Abu-Rustum’s clinical research focuses on surgical therapy for gynecologic cancers and innovative surgical approaches, including sentinel node mapping, improved localization and visualization of tumors, fertility-sparing surgery, and laparoscopy. He also has extensive experience in endometrial and cervical cancer and fertility-sparing radical trachelectomy and has numerous contributions to the field of gynecologic cancer surgery for which in 2017 he received the Society of Gynecologic Oncology SGO Innovation Award for his work on sentinel node mapping of uterine cancer. In his current role at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, he is actively involved in the development and improvement of surgical techniques and oversees surgical research programs. Over the years he has built collaborations with the gynecologic oncology team worldwide including at the Medical University of Vienna and has been appointed adjunct Professor in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Medical University of Vienna. In 2019 he was awarded the AGO Austria Wertheim award.
Dr. Abu-Rustum is Chair of the NCCN Cervical/Uterine/Vulva/GTD Cancers Panels and has served as a member of the Gynecologic Oncology Group Cervix Committee and the American College of Surgeons Committee on Emerging Surgical Technology and Education. He has authored or co-authored more than 300 publications and is co-author to numerous book chapters and three textbooks in gynecologic oncology.
He has worked at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for more than 23 years and is in full-time practice of gynecologic oncology in New York.