Memorial Hospital Research Laboratories

The Kenneth Offit Lab

Research

Pictured: Kenneth Offit
Kenneth Offit, MD
Robert and Kate Niehaus Chair in Inherited Cancer Genomics; Vice Chair, Academic Affairs, Department of Medicine​

Research in the laboratory focuses on the discovery and characterization of novel cancer predisposing genes in humans, including both common and rare variants. We conduct studies to describe phenotype, penetrance, modifying effect, and clinical outcomes associated with germline genetic alterations in cancer patients and their families. In addition, our research focuses on the interpretation and clinical translation of results of massively parallel sequencing of germline genomes in cancer-prone kindreds.

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Kenneth Offit Lab

Featured News

Meet the 2024-2025 Andrew Sabin Family Foundation Fellows
Finding
Vijai Joseph and Sabine Topka in the lab
Repairing DNA Damage in Cancer Cells
New findings could lead to a different kind of cancer drug that targets a DNA damage repair pathway called nucleotide excision repair.
In the Clinic
Kenneth Offit
Innovative Research Center Will Explore Hereditary Cancer Genes
MSK’s new Robert and Kate Niehaus Center for Inherited Cancer Genomics is using the latest in gene sequencing technologies to discover the inherited causes of cancer.

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Publications Highlights

Wei X, Calvo-Vidal MN, Chen S, Wu G, Revuelta MV, Sun J, Zhang J, Walsh MF, Nichols KE, Joseph V, Snyder C, Vachon CM, McKay JD, Wang SP, Jayabalan DS, Jacobs LM, Becirovic D, Waller RG, Artomov M, Viale A, Patel J, Phillip J, Chen-Kiang S, Curtin K, Salama M, Atanackovic D, Niesvizky R, Landgren O, Slager SL, Godley LA, Churpek J, Garber JE, Anderson KC, Daly MJ, Roeder RG, Dumontet C, Lynch HT, Mullighan CG, Camp NJ, Offit K, Klein RJ, Yu H, Cerchietti L, Lipkin SM. Germline Lysine-Specific Demethylase 1 (LSD1/KDM1A) Mutations Confer Susceptibility to Multiple Myeloma. Cancer Res. 2018 May 15;78(10):2747-2759.

Katona BW, Yurgelun MB, Garber JE, Offit K, Domchek SM, Robson ME, Stadler ZK. A counseling framework for moderate-penetrance colorectal cancer susceptibility genes. Genet Med. 2018 Mar 1.

Walsh MF, Kennedy J, Harlan M, Kentsis A, Shukla N, Musinsky J, Roberts S, Kung AL, Robson M, Kushner BH, Meyers P, Offit K. Germline BRCA2 mutations detected in pediatric sequencing studies impact parents’ evaluation and care. Cold Spring Harb Mol Case Stud. 2017 Nov 21;3(6).

Mandelker D, Zhang L, Kemel Y, Stadler ZK, Joseph V, Zehir A, Pradhan N, Arnold A, Walsh MF, Li Y, Balakrishnan AR, Syed A, Prasad M, Nafa K, Carlo MI, Cadoo KA, Sheehan M, Fleischut MH, Salo-Mullen E, Trottier M, Lipkin SM, Lincoln A, Mukherjee S, Ravichandran V, Cambria R, Galle J, Abida W, Arcila ME, Benayed R, Shah R, Yu K, Bajorin DF, Coleman JA, Leach SD, Lowery MA, Garcia-Aguilar J, Kantoff PW, Sawyers CL, Dickler MN, Saltz L, Motzer RJ, O’Reilly EM, Scher HI, Baselga J, Klimstra DS, Solit DB, Hyman DM, Berger MF, Ladanyi M, Robson ME, Offit K. Mutation Detection in Patients With Advanced Cancer by Universal Sequencing of Cancer-Related Genes in Tumor and Normal DNA vs Guideline-Based Germline Testing. JAMA. 2017 Sep 5;318(9):825-835. Doi: 10.1001/jama.2017.11137

Hamilton JG, Shuk E, Genoff MC, Rodríguez VM, Hay JL, Offit K, Robson ME. Interest and Attitudes of Patients With Advanced Cancer With Regard to Secondary Germline Findings From Tumor Genomic Profiling. J Oncol Pract. 2017 Jul;13(7):e590-e601.

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People

Pictured: Kenneth Offit

Kenneth Offit, MD

Robert and Kate Niehaus Chair in Inherited Cancer Genomics; Vice Chair, Academic Affairs, Department of Medicine​

  • Cancer geneticist Kenneth Offit focuses on gene characterization; genetic and epidemiologic studies of cancer-predisposing alleles; and the therapeutic, prognostic, and psychosocial translation of these findings.
  • MD, Harvard Medical School
offitk@mskcc.org
Email Address
646-888-4059
Office Phone
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Physician profile

Members

Pictured: Kenneth Offit
Kenneth Offit
Lab Head
Vijai Joseph
Vijai Joseph
Associate Attending Geneticist; Director of Bioinformatics, Niehaus Center
Mark E. Robson, MD
Mark E. Robson
Chief, Breast Medicine Service; Lead, Inherited Breast Cancer Genomics, Niehaus Center
Zsofia K. Stadler, MD
Zsofia K. Stadler
Lead, Inherited Gastrointestinal Cancer Genomics, Niehaus Center; Clinic Director
Sami Behaldj
Sami Belhadj
Research Fellow
Maria Carlo
Lead, Inherited Genitourinary Cancer Genomics, Niehaus Center
Sita Dandiker
Bryan Devolder
Yelena Kemel
Yelena Kemel
Niehaus Center Program Manager
Ying Liu
Ying Liu
Lead, Inherited Gynecological Cancer Genomics, Niehaus Center
Andrew Marderstein
Research Fellow
Semanti Mukherjee
Semanti Mukherjee
Associate Attending Geneticist; Director of Bioinformatics, Niehaus Center
Vignesh Ravichandran, Master of Science in Bioinformatics
Vignesh Ravichandran
Bioinformatics Specialist
Kaitlyn Tkachuk
Kaitlyn Tkachuk
Sabine Topka, PhD
Sabine Topka
Associate Director of Laboratory Operations; Head, Functional Genomics, Niehaus Center
Noah Kauff, MD
Noah Kauff
Clinical Laboratory Investigator
Sohela Shah, PhD
Sohela Shah
Research Fellow
Kasmintan (Intan) A. Schrader, MBBS
Kasmintan (Intan) A. Schrader
Postdoctoral Fellow
Christopher Manschreck
Christopher Manschreck
Research Technician
Tinu Thomas
Tinu Thomas
Research Technician
Shaheen Alanee
Clinical Fellows
Yvonne Bombard, PhD
Yvonne Bombard
Visiting Investigator
Karen Cadoo
Zarina Fnu
Zarina Fnu
Software Engineer
Pragna Gaddam
Pragna Gaddam
Research Study Assistant
David Gallagher
Clinical Fellows
Robert Hamilton
Clinical Fellows
Lauren Jacobs, BS
Lauren Jacobs
Research Study Assistant
Tomas Kirchhoff
Research Fellows
Ryan Kopp, MD
Ryan Kopp
Research Fellow
Jeffrey Levin
Jeffrey Levin
Anne Lincoln, MS
Anne Lincoln
Clinical Research Supervisor
Ann Maria
Ann Maria
Research Technician
Jacob Musinsky
Jacob Musinsky
RSA
Meredith Newland
Meredith Newland
Research Project Coordinator
Prodipto Pal
Research Fellows
Tenisha Phipps
Tenisha Phipps
Lab Technician
Derek Power
Clinical Fellows
Nisha Pradhan
Nisha Pradhan
RSA
Hayley Smith
Hayley Smith
John Sullivan, MB, BCh, BAO
John Sullivan
Research Fellow
Christina Tran
Christina Tran
Research Study Assistant
Danylko Villano, BA
Danylko Villano
Research Technician
Xiaoni Gao
Xiaoni Gao
Research Technician
James Hayes
James Hayes
Graduate Student

Open Positions

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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.

Kenneth Offit discloses the following relationships and financial interests:

No disclosures meeting criteria for time period


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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