James C. Cusack Jr MD, FACS

James Cusack, MD, FACS, is a graduate of Dartmouth College and Emory University Medical School who trained in surgery at Tufts-New England Medical Center. He completed a Research Fellowship at Brigham and Women's Hospital and the Surgical Oncology Fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center. In 2000 he joined the staff at Massachusetts General, the faculty of Harvard Medical School, and the consulting staff at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. At Massachusetts General, he is Director of the Peritoneal Surface Malignancy (HIPEC) Program and Surgical Oncology Laboratories. He served on the Executive Council of the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) and was Chair of the SSO Scientific Program Committee. He also served on the American Society of Clinical Oncology Gastrointestinal Symposium Program Committee. Among Dr. Cusack's awards for his patient care are Boston Super Doctors, Boston Top Doctors, The MGH One Hundred, America's Top Surgeons, America's Top Doctors for Cancer, and the Patients' Choice Award.

The Cusack Laboratory has made landmark contributions to the understanding of molecular mechanisms of chemotherapy resistance. Since 1995 Dr. Cusack's research has been funded by NIH, the American Cancer Society, biotech, and his patients. Ongoing research topics are biomarkers of resistance and new targets for therapeutic intervention in colorectal and appendiceal cancer, melanoma, and Merkel Cell carcinoma. His bibliography lists over 70 publications, and he serves on numerous editorial boards.

Dr. Cusack is the Director of the MGH Global Surgery Initiative and Co-Chair of the MGH Cancer Center Global Health Committee. He leads the MGH Cancer Care Initiative in Mbarara, Uganda, and is committed to improving access to affordable surgical treatment and multidisciplinary cancer care in resource-limited settings, especially in the East African Community.