Cheryl R. Lindenbaum
Comprehensive Cancer Center

Ahmad Raza, MD, MHA

Dr. Raza is the medical director of the Cheryl R. Lindenbaum Comprehensive Cancer Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital and an assistant professor of medicine in the division of hematology and oncology at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. Prior to joining NewYork-Presbyterian Hudson Valley, Dr. Raza served as medical director of community oncology and led a large oncology practice at the University of Minnesota Health.

Dr. Raza has clinical expertise in thoracic oncology and head and neck cancer, and his research has focused on developing less toxic and more effective cancer treatments. He has been published in several peer-reviewed journals and strives to broaden access to cancer care for underserved populations. He is board certified in medical oncology, hematology and internal medicine, and completed fellowship training in hematology and medical oncology at the University of Minnesota.

J. Gregory Mears, MD

Dr. Mears is a board-certified Medical Oncologist and Hematologist and is a Clinical Professor of Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center. After receiving his medical degree at the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, Dr. Mears completed his internal medicine residency at Boston University Medical Center and his hematology-medical oncology fellowship at NewYork-Presbyterian Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Dr. Mears cares for people with blood disorders with an emphasis on leukemia, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease, and multiple myeloma. He also has a strong clinical interest in breast cancer and is pursuing clinical research in the fields of Hodgkin’s and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Mark B. Stoopler, MD, FACP

Dr. Stoopler is a board-certified Medical Oncologist and Associate Professor of Medicine at Columbia University. Dr. Stoopler graduated from Weill Cornell Medical College and completed his fellowship in medical oncology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He serves as Co-Director of the Thoracic Oncology Tumor Board at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Dr. Stoopler specializes in thoracic oncology, including lung cancer, mesothelioma and other chest tumors, as well as esophageal cancer and gastric cancer. He is a member of the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, the International Society of Gastrointestinal Oncology and the American Federation for Medical Research.

Lawrence Koutcher, MD
Medical Director of Radiation Oncology, Cheryl R. Lindenbaum Comprehensive Cancer Center

Lawrence Koutcher, MD, is the Regional Director of Clinical Operations for Radiation Oncology at NewYork-Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital (NYP-HVH) in Cortlandt Manor, New York, and NewYork- Presbyterian Lawrence Hospital (NYP-LH) in Bronxville, New York. He also sees patients in Cold Spring, New York. He is an assistant professor of radiation oncology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. He is chair of the cancer committee and serves on the medical board at NYP-HVH.

Dr. Koutcher earned his BA in biochemistry from Columbia University and his MD from Cornell University, where he received a National Cancer Institute fellowship. He completed his radiation oncology residency at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he served as chief resident. Previously, he was the medical director of Professional Radiation Oncology Services and of the Herb and Sue Ann Redl Center for Cancer Care in Poughkeepsie, New York.

Leah M. Katz, MD, MPH

Leah M. Katz, MD, MPH is a board-certified radiation oncologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital and assistant professor of radiation oncology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. She sees patients at NewYork-Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital Cheryl Lindenbaum Comprehensive Cancer Center in Peekskill, New York.

Dr. Katz actively treats breast cancer, offering intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT), gynecological cancer, and gastrointestinal cancer. Additionally, she provides treatment for lung cancer, offering stereotactic radiation therapy (SBRT), brain cancer, benign diseases of the brain, and brain metastases, offering stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS). She also offers palliative radiation oncology for metastatic disease. Dr. Katz is an active member of the breast and gynecological research teams, and recently received an NRG Oncology grant to study sexual health in underrepresented women receiving pelvic radiation.

Vinit Karur, MD

Vinit Karur, MD, PhD, is a hematologist and oncologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Medical Group Hudson Valley and an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. His has a clinical focus in lung cancer, breast cancer, genitourinary cancer, and GI malignancy, with an interest in melanoma, lymphomas, multiple myeloma, leukemia, and blood disorders. Dr. Karur has a multidisciplinary, team approach to care to make standard treatment and research protocols available to his patients.

Dr. Karur completed his fellowship in hematology and Oncology at Temple University Hospital and Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He served his internship and residency at Abington Memorial Hospital in Abington, Pennsylvania. After graduating from the Medical College of Baroda in India, Dr. Karur earned his PhD from the University of Maine. Prior to arriving at Columbia, he has been in hospital based and elective practice in Texas and New Jersey.

Sam S. Yoon, MD

Sam S. Yoon, MD, is a surgical oncologist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital and chief of the division of surgical oncology at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. Dr. Yoon is a national and international expert in the treatment of patients with sarcomas and other soft tissue tumors, gastric (stomach) and gastroesophageal junction cancers, and gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs). He has more than 18 years of experience in the treatment of other gastrointestinal tumors, hepatobiliary tumors, adrenal tumors, lymphoma and splenic tumors, neuroendocrine tumors, and melanoma.

After earning his medical degree from the University of California at San Diego, Dr. Yoon completed his general surgery residency at Massachusetts General Hospital. He served his surgical oncology fellowship at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Before joining NewYork-Presbyterian, Dr. Yoon worked as an attending surgeon at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and previously held positions at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School.

Zylma Flores-Mercado, NP

Zylma Flores-Mercado, MSN, FNP-BC, is a nurse practitioner specializing in oncology care at NewYork-Presbyterian Medical Group Hudson Valley, affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian Hudson Valley Hospital. She works in collaboration with cancer center director, Dr. Ahmad Raza, and his team of medical and radiation oncologists to provide critical care to cancer patients.

Zylma earned her master of science in nursing from the College of Mount Saint Vincent in Bronx, New York, and has been working in hospital settings for more than ten years.