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Barbara Burtness, MD, Oncology, New Haven, CT

BarbaraBurtnessMD

Oncology New Haven, CT

Brady Professor of Medicine, Chief Translational Research Officer, Division Chief, Head and Neck Oncology, Director Yale Head and Neck SPORE, Yale Cancer Center

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  • Office

    333 Cedar St
    New Haven, CT 06510
    Phone+1 484-343-8547
    Fax+1 203-785-4116

Summary

  • Barbara Burtness, MD, is internationally recognized oncologist based in New Haven, CT, with expertise in head and neck cancer biology, oncology and therapeutics. She completed her medical degree at Stony Brook University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine, internship and residency in Internal Medicine at the Yale-New Haven Hospital and oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. At the Yale Cancer Center, Yale School of Medicine, she serves as Chief Translational Research Officer, Associate Director for Translational Science, and Co-Leader of the Developmental Therapeutics Program. She is Division Chief for Head and Neck/Sarcoma Oncology. Dr. Burtness is Chair of the ECOG-ACRIN Head and Neck Therapeutics Committee. She has led numerous clinical trials, including the pivotal trial of pembrolizumab leading to FDA approval for this agent in first-line treatment of recurrent/metastatic head and neck cancer. Her laboratory studies synthetic lethality in head and neck and lung cancer. She has received the Yale Cancer Center Clinical Research Prize and Leadership in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award, the Robert L. Krigel Memorial Award from Fox Chase Cancer Center, a Presidential Citation from the American Head and Neck Society and numerous distinguished lectureships. She has been in practice 38 years. She has more than 260 publications and over 29,000 citations.

Education & Training

  • Memorial Sloan-Kettering
    Memorial Sloan-Kettering1990 - 1993
  • Yale-New Haven Medical Center
    Yale-New Haven Medical CenterResidency, Internal Medicine, 1987 - 1989
  • Yale-New Haven Medical Center
    Yale-New Haven Medical CenterInternship, Internal Medicine, 1986 - 1987
  • Stony Brook University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine
    Stony Brook University Health Sciences Center School of MedicineClass of 1986
  • Bryn Mawr College
    Bryn Mawr CollegeA.B, Biology, Honors, 1978 - 1982

Certifications & Licensure

  • CT State Medical License
    CT State Medical License 1993 - 2025
  • PA State Medical License
    PA State Medical License 2005 - 2014
  • NY State Medical License
    NY State Medical License 1990 - 1994
  • American Board of Internal Medicine Internal Medicine

Awards, Honors, & Recognition

  • Award for Leadership in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Yale Cancer Center, 2023
  • Clinical Research Prize Yale Cancer Center, 2019
  • Regional Top Doctor Castle Connolly, 2014
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Clinical Trials

Publications & Presentations

PubMed

Journal Articles

  • HPV Status in Unknown Primary Head and Neck Cancer: Prognosis and Treatment Outcomes  
    Shayan Cheraghlou, Sina J Torabi, Michael D Otremba, Barbara A Burtness, Saral Mehra, Benjamin L Judson, Wendell G Yarbrough, The Laryngoscope
  • Images in Medicine: Cetuximab-associated acneiform rash.  
    Moss J and B Burtness, N Engl J Med 353:e17.
  • Oxaliplatin induces a delayed immune hemolytic anemia: A case report and review of the literature.  
    Noronha V, B Burtness, J Murren, TP Duffy., Clin Colorectal Ca 5:283-286
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Books/Book Chapters

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Abstracts/Posters

  • Phase III randomized trial of cisplatin + placebo versus cisplatin + C225, a monoclonal antibody directed to the epidermal growth factor receptor, for the treatment of...
    Burtness BA, Y Li, M Goldwasser, W Flood, B Mattar, A Forastiere., J Clin Oncol
  • Docetaxel and irinotecan combination chemotherapy in advanced esophageal cancer.
    Shanbhag S and B Burtness, Eur J Clin Med Oncol
  • EGFR inhibition in head and neck cancer – more insights but more questions
    Forastiere AA and BA Burtness., J Clin Oncol 25:2152-5
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Lectures

  • Debate: FLOT or Not—Revisiting the Current and Future Role of Radiotherapy in GE Junction Cancers 
    ASCO Gastrointestinal Cancers Symposium - San Francisco, CA - 1/23/2020
  • Positive Rebuttal to Negative Position 
    ASCO Annual Meeting 2019 - Chicago, IL - 5/31/2019
  • Abu Ghraib and the Failure of American Medical Education, The William and Wilma Haines/National Endowment for the Humanities Lecture in Bioethics. 
    The Center for the Humanities, Hood College, Frederick
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Other

  • "Liberia's only internist dies of Ebola: Remembering Abraham Borbor." 
    Burtness B, The Clinical Advisor
    1/1/2014
  • Editor: "Current Cancer Research: Molecular Determinants of Head and Neck Cancer; Springer Verlag, New York" 
    Burtness B and Golemis E
    1/1/2013
  • "Metastatic and Recurrent Head and Neck Cancer." (Updated Annually) 
    Tejani M and B Burtness, Clinical Care Options
    1/1/2010
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Authored Content

  • Debate Summary: What's the Best Trial for a Patient? FLOT or Not?February 2020
  • To FLOT or Not to FLOTFebruary 2020

Press Mentions

  • Chemotherapy Before Surgery Helps Patients with Nose and Sinus Cancer Avoid Debilitating Eye and Bone Removal
    Chemotherapy Before Surgery Helps Patients with Nose and Sinus Cancer Avoid Debilitating Eye and Bone RemovalSeptember 10th, 2024
  • 10 Warning Signs of Oral Cancer
    10 Warning Signs of Oral CancerMay 1st, 2023
  • Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University and Fox Chase Researcher Receives Grant to Study Gene as Target in Squamous Cell Head and Neck Cancers
    Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University and Fox Chase Researcher Receives Grant to Study Gene as Target in Squamous Cell Head and Neck CancersJanuary 23rd, 2023
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Grant Support

  • Head and Neck Cancer TeamStand Up to Cancer2022–2025
  • Overcoming Resistance to EGFR Inhibition in Head and Neck CancerDOD2021–2025
  • Yale Head and Neck SPORENIDCR/NCI2020–2025

Committees

  • Chair, Translational Incubator Steering Committee, Yale Cancer Center 2024 - Present
  • Co-Chair, SITC Head and Neck Guidelines Committee 2023 - Present
  • Chair, Task Force on Advancement of Women, ECOG-ACRIN Research Group 2022 - Present
  • Chair, Head and Neck Therapeutics Committee, ECOG-ACRIN Research Group 2016 - Present

Professional Memberships