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Nita Ahuja, MD, MBA, FACS

William H. Carmalt Professor of Surgery
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Additional Titles

Chair, Surgery

Associate Cancer Center Director, Surgical Services

About

The Yale Department of Surgery is committed to improving patient outcomes through advances in the field of precision medicine and exceptional training for the next generation of leaders.

Titles

William H. Carmalt Professor of Surgery

Chair, Surgery; Associate Cancer Center Director, Surgical Services

Biography

Nita Ahuja, MD, MBA, is the chair of the Department of Surgery at Yale School of Medicine and chief of surgery at Yale New Haven Hospital, effective February 1, 2018. Watch a video with Dr. Nita Ahuja>>

Dr. Ahuja obtained her medical education at the Duke University School of Medicine and her training in general surgery at Johns Hopkins. She completed a fellowship in surgical oncology at Johns Hopkins focused on hepatobiliary malignancies and joined the faculty in 2003.

Dr Ahuja's surgical specialization is in management of sarcomas and complex gastrointestinal cancers, including gastric, rectal, and pancreatic cancers. She has developed an international reputation for management of peritoneal cancer metastases with cytoreduction and heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy, which attracts patients from around the world. She is a strong advocate for working with various disciplines to deliver caring and cutting edge treatment to her patients and is honored as a top doctor by multiple organizations. Prior to coming to Yale as chair of surgery, she was the director of sarcoma program and gastric cancer program.

Dr. Ahuja is also a passionate advocate of clinician scientist and has run a laboratory focused on developing new knowledge to improve cancer outcomes. Her NIH funded laboratory has been focused on identifying new biomarkers for pancreas and colon cancers using liquid biopsies and stool DNA. She has also led over twenty national and international clinical trials on testing new therapies in gastrointestinal and breast cancers based on concepts identified in her laboratory.

She is a national and international surgical leader and surgeon scientist who serves on multiple editorial boards and in national leadership positions including as an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, member of the American Surgical Association, New England Surgical Society, Southern Surgical Association and on the Association of American Medical Colleges Council of Faculty and Academic Societies Administrative Board. She has published over 300 papers and book chapters contributing to both the surgical and basic science fields. Her many awards and honors include the William J. Reinhoff, Jr. Scholar Award, the American Surgical Association Fellowship, the Society of Surgical Oncology Clinical Investigator Award, and the Abell Foundation Award: Johns Hopkins Alliance for Science and Technology Development.



Appointments

Other Departments & Organizations

Education & Training

MBA
Johns Hopkins University (2016)
Surgical Oncology Fellowship
Johns Hopkins University (2003)
Residency in General Surgery
Johns Hopkins University (2002)
Registrar: Surgical Oncology and Colorectal Service
John Radcliffe Hospital (2001)
Internship in General Surgery
Johns Hopkins University (1994)
MD
Duke University School of Medicine (1993)
BS
University of Maryland, Biology (1989)
BS
University of Maryland, Mathematics (1989)

Research

Overview

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

Colorectal Neoplasms; Gastrointestinal Diseases; Pancreatic Neoplasms

Research at a Glance

Yale Co-Authors

Frequent collaborators of Nita Ahuja's published research.

Publications

2024

2023

Academic Achievements & Community Involvement

  • honor

    Abell Foundation Award: Johns Hopkins Alliance for Science and Technology Development

  • honor

    Society of Surgical Oncology Clinical Investigator Award

  • honor

    William J. Reinhoff, Jr. Scholar Award

  • honor

    American Surgical Association Foundation Fellowship Award

Clinical Care

Overview

Nita Ahuja, MD, MBA, is the chair of surgery for Yale Medicine and chief of surgery for Yale New Haven Hospital. A gastrointestinal oncology surgeon, she has an international reputation for providing complex surgeries for people with gastric, rectal, and pancreatic cancers. She is internationally known for treating rare, difficult soft-tissue sarcomas, which are cancers that affect the connective tissue.

Dr. Ahuja uses the latest minimally invasive techniques and approaches, often working with other specialists to provide combined approaches such as chemotherapy and surgery. She has an international reputation for management of peritoneal cancer metastases with cytoreduction and heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy, a service that attracts patients from around the world. But she considers her surgical skill and techniques as secondary to her most important work, which is talking to her patients about their care.

“I trained 10 years after medical school, and we’ve gotten more and more technical. But at the end of the day it’s about the patient,” Dr. Ahuja says. “Patients understandably want to know, ‘What’s my chance of survival? Can I be there for my kid’s graduation or prom?’ They bring in all their fears. It’s my job to pay attention to those fears, and then explain all that’s happening with the cancer, including the surgery, the imaging, the genomics. I also remind them that they probably won’t remember everything I say. But we will talk about it again and again.”

As a professor of surgery at Yale School of Medicine, Dr. Ahuja is also a prolific researcher. She is an NIH-funded surgeon-scientist and a leading member of the second Stand Up to Cancer Dream Team, a research group studying epigenetic therapy for cancer management. Epigenetics is the study of biological mechanisms that switch genes on and off. She is widely recognized as a leader in translational epigenetics, conducting clinical trials in colorectal cancer, pancreatic cancer, and other solid tumors. She is also known among her peers for developing biomarkers for early detection of colorectal and pancreatic cancers.

Dr. Ahuja says all of her work—in the exam room and in the lab—is aimed at providing better care. “I wake up every day thinking about how I can make my patients’ lives better,” she says.

Clinical Specialties

Gastrointestinal Surgical Oncology; Surgical Oncology; Sarcoma

Fact Sheets

Board Certifications

  • Surgery General

    Certification Organization
    AB of Surgery
    Original Certification Date
    2003

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Contacts

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