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Barbara Burtness, MD

Anthony N. Brady Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology)
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Additional Titles

Chief Translational Research Officer, Yale Cancer Center

Chief, Head and Neck Cancers/Sarcoma

Co-Leader, Developmental Therapeutics, Yale Cancer Center

Associate Cancer Center Director for Translational Research, Yale Cancer Center

About

Titles

Anthony N. Brady Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology)

Chief Translational Research Officer, Yale Cancer Center; Chief, Head and Neck Cancers/Sarcoma; Co-Leader, Developmental Therapeutics, Yale Cancer Center; Associate Cancer Center Director for Translational Research, Yale Cancer Center

Biography

Barbara Burtness, MD is Professor of Medicine (Medical Oncology) at the Yale School of Medicine, Chief Translational Research Officer, and Associate Cancer Center Director for Translational Research at the Yale Cancer Center. She serves as Co-Leader of the Developmental Therapeutics Program, Division Chief for Head and Neck/Sarcoma Oncology, and Director of the Yale Head and Neck Specialized Program of Research Excellence. Dr. Burtness is internationally recognized for her research in head and neck cancer. She chairs the ECOG-ACRIN Cooperative Group Head and Neck Cancer Therapeutics Committee and the ECOG-ACRIN Task Force for the Advancement of Women, and leads national and international trials of targeted therapy in head and neck cancer. Her laboratory studies synthetic lethal therapeutic strategies in head and neck cancer and the targeting of aurora kinase A to overcome adaptive resistance to EGFR inhibition and - in lung cancer- to direct KRAS inhibition.

Appointments

Other Departments & Organizations

Education & Training

Fellowship
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (1993)
Residency
Yale-New Haven Hospital (1989)
Internship
Yale-New Haven Hospital (1987)
MD
SUNY at Stonybrook (1986)
AB
Bryn Mawr College (1982)

Research

Overview

Studies of targeted treatments for EGFR expressed head and neck cancers, including biomarkers of resistance and novel strategies such as dual EGFR blockade, to overcome resistance. She has demonstrated that loss of PTEN indicates resistance to EGFR inhibition in head and neck cancer, and studied novel dual EGFR/HDAC inhibitors and combined antibody and tyrosine kinase inhibition as strategies to improve responsiveness to EGFR inhibition. She leads the ECOG-ACRIN Head and Neck Therapeutics Committee, which conducts large multicenter trials in head and neck cancer, and chairs multicenter trials of targeted therapy and immunotherapy in head and neck cancer. Her laboratory studies novel combinatorial therapies to target p53 mutated head and neck cancer.

Medical Research Interests

Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment; Chemicals and Drugs; Drug Therapy; Head and Neck Neoplasms; Medical Oncology

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of Barbara Burtness's published research.

Publications

2024

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Clinical Trials

Current Trials

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Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

  • activity

    ECOG-ACRIN

    CommitteesMember
  • activity

    ECOG-ACRIN

    CommitteesChair
  • honor

    Leadership in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

    Yale School of Medicine AwardYale Cancer Center
  • honor

    Yale Cancer Center Clinical Science Prize

    Yale School of Medicine AwardYale Cancer Center
  • honor

    Wharton Lecturer

    International AwardPrincess Margaret Cancer Center
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Clinical Care

Overview

Barbara Burtness, MD, is a Yale Medicine medical oncologist who sees patients at Yale Cancer Center. She has made it her life’s mission to help people diagnosed with head and neck cancer, which can be a devastating disease even after it is cured—it can impact a person’s appearance, as well as the ability to speak, swallow, and eat.

“Patients often encounter unpleasant outcomes that can include difficulty swallowing solid foods, impaired nutrition, aspiration, and feeding tube dependence,” says Dr. Burtness. “Younger patients may have to deal with these side effects for decades after cancer treatment.”

A careful treatment approach can help prevent these problems. She and her team evaluate the tumor location and decide which primary treatment (surgery or radiation therapy) will best cure the cancer and cause the fewest possible negative outcomes.

A professor of medicine at Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Burtness’ research lab is actively studying new cures for head and neck cancers. “We want to help improve these patients’ quality of life,” she says.

Clinical Specialties

Internal Medicine; Medical Oncology

Fact Sheets

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Board Certifications

  • Internal Medicine

    Certification Organization
    AB of Internal Medicine
    Original Certification Date
    1989

Yale Medicine News

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Are You a Patient?

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Contacts

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Academic Office Number
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Locations

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