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Dr. Jim Hu has been appointed director of the LeFrak Center for Robotic Surgery at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center and recruited as the Ronald Lynch Chair of Urologic Oncology at Weill Cornell Medical College. He assumed his new role on Feb. 1.

Dr. Hu is an internationally renowned expert in the use of robotic and minimally invasive surgery to treat prostate cancer. As director of the LeFrak Center, he will lead cutting-edge clinical and research efforts in urologic oncology, as well as other areas such as otolaryngology, obstetrics and gynecology, and ophthalmology. Dr. Hu will also spearhead clinical efforts in prostate cancer at the recently established Sandra and Edward Meyer Cancer Center at Weill Cornell Medical College and NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, in addition to serving on Weill Cornell’s faculty.

“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Hu,” said Dr. Peter Schlegel, urologist-in-chief at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell and the James J. Colt Professor and chairman of the Department of Urology at Weill Cornell Medical College. “He has a truly outstanding track record of excellence and innovation in both urologic oncology and robotic-assisted surgery.”

Dr. Hu joins NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell from the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, where he served as director of minimally invasive and robotic surgery and professor of urology, in addition to holding the Henry E. Singleton Chair. Prior to his tenure at UCLA, he was the director of robotic urologic surgery and the director of prostate cancer at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, while also serving as associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School and associate surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

A former American Foundation for Urologic Disease scholar, Dr. Hu has been funded by the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Department of Defense and the Lance Armstrong Foundation. His research has been published in numerous prestigious journals, including the Journal of the American Medical Association, Journal of Clinical Oncology, European Urology and Annals of Surgery, and his work has been cited in the New York Times and Wall Street Journal among other national outlets.

Dr. Hu earned his undergraduate and Master of Public Health degrees from Johns Hopkins University and his medical degree from Baylor College of Medicine. He completed his surgery and urology residency training at UCLA and a fellowship in urologic oncology and robotic surgery at City of Hope National Medical Center.

“NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and Weill Cornell Medical College’s track record of developing innovative, patient-friendly treatments is exemplary,” Dr. Hu said. “With a team of brilliant physicians and state-of-the-art resources, I’m confident we will make great strides in personalized cancer treatment and robotic surgery.”

NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center

NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, located in New York City, is one of the leading academic medical centers in the world, comprising the teaching hospital NewYork-Presbyterian and Weill Cornell Medical College, the medical school of Cornell University. NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell provides state-of-the-art inpatient, ambulatory and preventive care in all areas of medicine, and is committed to excellence in patient care, education, research and community service. Weill Cornell physician-scientists have been responsible for many medical advances — including the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer; the synthesis of penicillin; the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S.; the first clinical trial for gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease; the first indication of bone marrow’s critical role in tumor growth; and, most recently, the world’s first successful use of deep brain stimulation to treat a minimally conscious brain-injured patient. NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital also comprises NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center, NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, NewYork-Presbyterian/Westchester Division, NewYork-Presbyterian/The Allen Hospital, and NewYork-Presbyterian/Lower Manhattan Hospital. The hospital is also closely affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian/Hudson Valley Hospital and NewYork-Presbyterian/Lawrence Hospital. NewYork-Presbyterian is the #1 hospital in the New York metropolitan area, according to U.S. News & World Report, and consistently named to the magazine’s Honor Roll of best hospitals in the nation. Weill Cornell Medical College is the first U.S. medical college to offer a medical degree overseas and maintains a strong global presence in Austria, Brazil, Haiti, Tanzania, Turkey and Qatar. For more information, visit www.nyp.org and weill.cornell.edu.

Weill Cornell Medical College

Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University’s medical school located in New York City, is committed to excellence in research, teaching, patient care and the advancement of the art and science of medicine, locally, nationally and globally. Physicians and scientists of Weill Cornell Medical College are engaged in cutting-edge research from bench to bedside aimed at unlocking mysteries of the human body in health and sickness and toward developing new treatments and prevention strategies. In its commitment to global health and education, Weill Cornell has a strong presence in places such as Qatar, Tanzania, Haiti, Brazil, Austria and Turkey. Through the historic Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, the Medical College is the first in the U.S. to offer its M.D. degree overseas. Weill Cornell is the birthplace of many medical advances — including the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer, the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., the first clinical trial of gene therapy for Parkinson’s disease, and most recently, the world’s first successful use of deep brain stimulation to treat a minimally conscious brain-injured patient. Weill Cornell Medical College is affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, where its faculty provides comprehensive patient care at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The Medical College is also affiliated with Houston Methodist. For more information, visit weill.cornell.edu.