New Chief of Bone Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapies Named to New Jersey’s Only NCI-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center

Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and RWJBarnabas Health have appointed Ira Braunschweig, MD, as chief, Section of Transplant and Cell Therapy at Rutgers Cancer Institute, chief of the Transplant and Cell Therapy Service of the RWJBarnabas Health Oncology Service Line, and director for Cell Therapy and Bone Marrow Transplantation at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, an RWJBarnabas facility. He will also serve as professor of medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He will be joining Rutgers on June 1. The selection comes following an extensive national search. Dr. Braunschweig was most recently director of the Stem Cell Transplant Program and the clinical program director of Hematologic Malignancies at the Montefiore Einstein Cancer Center, where he built the stem cell transplant program into a high volume, high quality program recognized by the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT), the highest cellular therapy governing organization.

Dr. Braunschweig will lead the Blood and Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapies Program at Rutgers Cancer Institute, which offers transplants for patients with acute and chronic leukemias, myelodysplasia, various types of lymphoma, Hodgkin disease, multiple myeloma, amyloidosis and related diseases. The program, in collaboration with Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, is the only such program in New Jersey that is part of a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and is one of the only programs in the state certified to perform autologous and allogeneic stem cell transplants. In his roles, Braunschweig will oversee the clinical and research activities within the program and will also collaborate with colleagues across RWJBarnabas Health on clinical research activities in bone marrow transplantation. 

“Dr. Braunschweig is a proven leader in the growth of blood and marrow transplant programs and will utilize his expertise in the field and his innovation to elevate the stature of and expand our Blood and Marrow Transplant and Cellular Therapies Program, statewide. We are pleased to have him join our team,” notes Rutgers Cancer Institute Director Steven K. Libutti, MD, FACS, who is also the senior vice president of oncology services at RWJBarnabas Health.

“We look forward to Dr. Braunschweig implementing his vision for the program, further enabling our physicians to deliver comprehensive, multidisciplinary care for our patients and our investigators to foster the development of the next generation of cellular therapies to improve patient outcomes,” says Roger K. Strair, MD, PhD, chief of Blood Disorders at Rutgers Cancer Institute and professor of medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

“I feel fortunate to begin working with such a skilled and passionate team of specialists at New Jersey’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center. Together we will continue to build on a strong foundation of excellence in blood and bone marrow transplantation and cell therapy research and clinical practice,” notes Braunschweig. “It is my goal is to support Rutgers Cancer Institute’s mission of improving quality care, accelerating scientific discovery, and of course, to help individuals fight cancer by ensuring the integration of these therapy services across the cancer care continuum.”

Braunschweig pursued his undergraduate studies at the Yeshiva College of Yeshiva University in New York and received his medical degree at New York University School of Medicine. After completing his residency in internal medicine at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, he went on to do his fellowship in hematology/oncology at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston and stayed on there as a faculty member for three years in the Blood and Marrow Transplant Program.

He has published numerous peer reviewed articles focusing on topics relating to blood and bone marrow transplantation and has given a number of national lectures on the topic. Braunschweig is also a member of professional societies including the American Society of Hematology and the American Society for Blood and Bone Marrow Transplantation.

About Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey

As New Jersey’s only National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, Rutgers Cancer Institute, together with RWJBarnabas Health, offers the most advanced cancer treatment options including bone marrow transplantation, proton therapy, CAR T-cell therapy and complex surgical procedures. Along with clinical trials and novel therapeutics such as precision medicine and immunotherapy – many of which are not widely available – patients have access to these cutting-edge therapies at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey in New Brunswick, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey at University Hospital in Newark, as well as through RWJBarnabas Health facilities. To make a tax-deductible gift to support the Cancer Institute of New Jersey, call 848-932-8013 or visit www.cinj.org/giving.