MSK pathologist Melissa Pulitzer

Melissa P. Pulitzer, MD

Pathologist

Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Skin cancer and conditions
  • Cutaneous lymphoma

My Specialties

  • Dermatopathology
  • Surgical pathology
Dr. Pulitzer's Office Information
Languages: English
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Get to Know Me

A board-certified attending pathologist and dermatopathologist, I am a nationally and internationally recognized expert in the diagnosis of skin cancer and cancer-related inflammatory skin disease.

My primary area of diagnostic and research interest is the clinical and pathologic characterization of cutaneous lymphoma (CL), a group of cancers of white blood cells which occur in the skin. Other areas of diagnostic expertise include keratinocytic and neuroendocrine carcinomas, melanocytic neoplasia, skin adnexal neoplasms, and cutaneous histiocytic disorders.

As the lead cutaneous lymphoma pathologist in our group, I work closely with my MSK dermatology, hematology, radiation oncology, and hematopathology colleagues in the diagnosis, management, and study of these complex diseases. I participate in single and multi-institutional studies and workshops with other CL referral centers. I contribute extensively to education in the CL field through clinical and pathology reviews, lectures, and book chapters, and have authored or co-authored numerous original research publications. I also have given many lectures and microscopic workshops nationally and internationally. I am strongly committed to mentoring junior colleagues and trainees to develop the skills to better care for our patients through diagnostic acumen and critical thinking. This is accomplished in part through my role as Associate Director of the Dermatopathology Fellowship Program, and in part through extensive interdepartmental translational research support and visiting student/fellow project mentoring.

Another important area of research interest for me is the study of Merkel Cell carcinoma (MCC), a primary cutaneous neuroendocrine carcinoma. In this area, I have worked to define differences between variants of MCC, in order to help develop clinical recognition and biopsy recommendations, and to suggest potential treatment approaches.

Ongoing collaborations with dermatology and oncology colleagues include the identification and characterization of new patterns of skin reactions in response to therapies that challenge traditional paradigms in diagnosis. This work is important in helping pathologists and clinicians to understand the evolving landscape of drug reactions in the era of personalized medicine, and to appropriately treat patients. I work with colleagues in skin imaging by helping to correlate histopathologically identified structures, in cancer and benign tissue, with comparable structures visualized by techniques such as dermoscopy and confocal microscopy to improve diagnostic capabilities of those techniques. This work helps reduce unnecessary invasive procedures on patients, and helps identify diagnostic pitfalls encountered in these technologies, reducing misdiagnosis of cancer.

What I Do at MSK

I'm a pathologist, which is a doctor who uses a microscope to make a diagnosis from cell and tissue samples. I analyze these samples to learn the cause and effects of a health issue.

  • Attending Pathologist
Areas of Expertise

Conditions I Treat

  • Skin cancer and conditions
  • Cutaneous lymphoma

My Specialties

  • Dermatopathology
  • Surgical pathology
Education & Honors

Education

  • MD, Hahnemann University School of Medicine

Residencies

  • Jefferson Medical College
  • Mount Sinai School of Medicine

Fellowships

  • New York University School of Medicine

Board Certifications

  • Anatomic Pathology
  • Dermatopathology

Insurance Information

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Contact and Location

Location
New York, NY
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
1275 York Avenue New York NY 10065
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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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Research and Publications

Publications on PubMed

Visit PubMed for a full listing of Dr. Pulitzer’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.

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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.

Melissa P. Pulitzer discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

  • AbbVie
    Equity
  • Eli Lilly and Company
    Equity
  • Illumina
    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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