Meet MSK Surgeon Jeffrey Drebin

MSK Surgeon Jeffrey Drebin, Chief Physician Executive, is an expert in pancreatic cancer and treating liver tumors. Learn more about surgery at MSK, which has among the country’s largest cancer surgery departments.
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 Chief Physician Executive; Murray F. Brennan Chair in Surgery Jeffrey Drebin

Jeffrey Drebin, MD, PhD

Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgeon

Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Pancreatic cancer
  • Pancreatic cysts
  • Liver cancer and conditions

My Specialties

  • Minimally invasive surgery
  • Laparoscopic surgery
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Dr. Drebin's Office Information
Languages: English
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Get to Know Me

As Chief Physician Executive, I lead our academic clinical departments and the clinical practice plan in addition to hospital-based research, medical education, training programs, and faculty affairs. I partner with Hospital President Shelly Anderson, MPM, in the leadership of the clinical enterprise and Chief Scientific Officer, Ross Levine, MD, in the oversight of hospital-based laboratory research. In addition to my administrative duties, I am also a surgeon and scientist. I specialize in treating people with pancreatic cancer, gallbladder and bile duct cancers, liver cancer, and stomach cancer.

I knew from a young age I wanted to be a doctor, and losing a number of relatives to cancer gave me a personal stake in finding better ways to treat the disease. But it wasn’t until I was almost finished with medical school, going through my final rotations, that I decided to change paths and become a surgeon. I was inspired by how quickly and substantially surgeons are able to help people.

I came to MSK not only because it is the preeminent cancer institution in the country, but also because it is a place where people are committed to going above and beyond the scope of their work. Everyone here is simultaneously dedicated to caring for patients and advancing our knowledge of this disease.

When I meet patients, they’re often frightened. I find the best way to deal with that is by giving them accurate information. While I am always honest, I lean on the side of hopeful: I have treated many people with very bad cancers who are alive and well years later. This is an exciting time to be in the field because I believe the areas of immunotherapy, which harnesses the body’s immune system to fight cancer, and targeted therapy, which directly attacks the altered biochemical pathways in cancer cells, hold great potential for pancreatic and other gastrointestinal cancers. MSK has a number of clinical trials that are looking at how we can add immunotherapy and targeted therapies to conventional treatments so that, in essence, we’re giving people tomorrow’s treatments today. We are also looking at ways to improve early detection methods.

When I’m not working, I like to spend time with my family, ski, and read.

What I Do at MSK

I'm a hepatopancreatobiliary (heh-PA-toh-PAN-kree-A-to-BIH-lee-AYR-ee) surgeon at MSK. This is a doctor with special training in surgery on the liver, pancreas, gallbladder, and bile ducts. They’re also called an HPB surgeon.

  • Chief Physician Executive
  • Murray F. Brennan Chair in Surgery
Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Pancreatic cancer
  • Pancreatic cysts
  • Liver cancer and conditions
  • Bile duct cancer (cholangiocarcinoma)
  • Stomach (gastric) cancer

My Specialties

  • Minimally invasive surgery
  • Laparoscopic surgery
Education & Honors

Education

  • MD, PhD, Harvard Medical School

Residencies

  • The Johns Hopkins Hospital

Fellowships

  • The Johns Hopkins Hospital

Board Certifications

  • Surgery

Awards and Honors

  • Castle Connolly: America’s Top Doctor (2025)
  • Castle Connolly: America’s Top Doctor (2024)
  • Top Doctors New York Metro Area, Castle Connolly (2023)
  • Castle Connolly: America's Top Doctors (2023)
  • Castle Connolly: New York Magazine Top Doctors (2018-2020)
  • American Association for Cancer Research Surgeon Scientist Award (2016)

Insurance Information

Understanding your insurance options is an important part of managing your cancer care. We have relationships with many common healthcare providers and plans.

Don't see your carrier or plan? We can help you understand your coverage.

If you don't have health insurance or are worried that your care may not be fully covered, our financial assistance programs may be able to help.

If you have questions about insurance, call us at 646-497-9176.

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Current Patients
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Contact and Location

Office Phone
Location
New York, NY
Rockefeller Outpatient Pavilion
160 East 53rd Street New York NY 10022
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Looking to see a doctor at a different location? See all MSK locations.

Colleagues

Doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering work as teams, with specialists from all different areas. This allows us to consider all your needs together, and to give you the best possible care.

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Clinical Trials

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Find a Clinical Trial for You

Memorial Sloan Kettering's doctors and scientists are constantly developing new treatments for cancer. MSK is typically running hundreds of clinical trials at a given time.

You may be able to participate in a clinical trial even if you are new to MSK. Search our online directory to find trial information and see more about who can participate.

Search clinical trials

Research and Publications

Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Drebin’s journal articles. Pubmed is an online index of research papers and other articles from the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health.

See all on PubMed

Disclosures

Members of the MSK Community often work with pharmaceutical, device, biotechnology, and life sciences companies, and other organizations outside of MSK, to find safe and effective cancer treatments, to improve patient care, and to educate the health care community. These activities outside of MSK further our mission, provide productive collaborations, and promote the practical application of scientific discoveries.

MSK requires doctors, faculty members, and leaders to report (“disclose”) the relationships and financial interests they have with external entities. As a commitment to transparency with our community, we make that information available to the public. Not all disclosed interests and relationships present conflicts of interest. MSK reviews all disclosed interests and relationships to assess whether a conflict of interest exists and whether formal COI management is needed.

Jeffrey Drebin discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

  • Alnylam
    Equity
  • Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
    Equity

If you’re a patient at MSK and would like more information about your doctor’s external relationships, please talk with your doctor.

The information published here is a complement to other publicly reported data and is for a specific annual disclosure period. There may be differences between information on this and other public sites as a result of different reporting periods and/or the various ways relationships and financial interests are categorized by organizations that publish such data.

This page and data include information for a specific MSK annual disclosure period (January 1, 2024 through disclosure submission in spring 2025). This data reflects interests that may or may not still exist. This data is updated annually.

Learn more about MSK’s COI policies here. For questions regarding MSK’s COI-related policies and procedures, email MSK’s Compliance Office at ecoi@mskcc.org.


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