Dr. Harvey Pass

Chief, Division of Thoracic Surgery

NYU Langone Medical Center

530 First Avenue
New York, NY 10016
(212) 263-7417

Johns Hopkins University

Duke University - 1973

Duke University Medical School; University of Mississippi Medical Center; Medical University of South Carolina

National Cancer Institute

Overview

Dr. Harvey Pass is a renowned thoracic surgeon that has dedicated his career to bringing increased awareness of the dangers of asbestos exposure and its causal relationship to pleural mesothelioma to both the medical community and the public at large. One of his most important research findings occurred while at the Karmanos Cancer Center from 1996-2005. While there, Dr. Harvey Pass and his colleagues completed a key study through which they identified a protein called osteopontin that presents at elevated levels in patients diagnosed with pleural mesothelioma. This important medical discovery now allows doctors to use a simple blood test to screen individuals with a history of asbestos exposure to help diagnose pleural mesotheliomas in earlier stages (stage 1 and stage 2) where they can be treated more successfully.

Educational Background

Dr. Harvey Pass completed undergraduate studies at Johns Hopkins University where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and received his medical degree from Duke Medical School. He completed residency training at Duke University Medical School, University of Mississippi Medical Center and Medical University of South Carolina.

Professional and Faculty Appointments

From 1982 - 1983 Dr. Harvey Pass was an Assistant Professor at the Medical University of South Carolina, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery. In 1983 Dr. Pass entered a three year Senior Staff Fellowship training program in the Thoracic Oncology Section of the National Cancer Institute and in 1986 after completing the fellowship, became Head of Thoracic Oncology for the NCI where he served for 10 years. From 1983-1996 he also served as Assistant Professor of Surgery at the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland.
Dr. Pass currently serves as Chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at NYU Langone Medical Center. He oversees a laboratory at Bellevue Hospital where much important research work funded by the National Cancer Institute takes place including the new Mesothelioma Pathogenesis Program Project. He has also established a three year Thoracic Fellowship Training Program at NYU for individuals interested in general thoracic surgery.

Other Distinguishing Awards

Dr. Harvey Pass has held numerous positions in professional associations, has served as guest reviewer for major medical journals and publications, has served as a consultant to private companies and well as public agencies and foundations, continues to be a passionate advocate for patients diagnosed with mesothelioma (like peritoneal mesothelioma and pericardial mesothelioma) and has received the Castle Connolly America's Top Doctors award for the last five years.

Relevant Articles by Dr. Harvey Pass

Human Mesothelioma Samples Overexpress Both Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS2): In Vitro Antiproliferative Effects of a COX-2 Inhibitor
Preoperative Tumor Volume Is Associated With Outcome In Malignant Pleural Mesothelioma
Phase III randomized trial of surgery with or without intraoperative photodynamic therapy and postoperative immunochemotherapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma
Surgically debulked malignant pleural mesothelioma: results and prognostic factors
A phase II trial investigating primary immunochemotherapy for malignant pleural mesothelioma and the feasibility of adjuvant immunochemotherapy after maximal cytoreduction

Relevant Books by Dr. Harvey Pass

100 Questions & Answers About Mesothelioma
Malignant Mesothelioma: Advances in Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Translational Therapies