Marco Bertucci Zoccali, MD, FACS, FASCRS

Dr. Chabot is a beloved and revered pancreatic cancer surgeon, and founder of the Pancreas Center at Columbia/NewYork-Presbyterian. Established in 2006, the Pancreas Center is one of the largest and most effective clinical cancer programs in the world, as well as a transformative research center where scientific discovery leads to trials of new pancreatic cancer therapies. Under Dr. Chabot’s leadership, the Pancreas Center has grown from an informal collaboration to a comprehensive faculty of clinical specialists and scientific and translational researchers. This team now includes three full-time medical oncologists and numerous specialists who support pancreatic patient needs, as well as 13 different full- and part-time laboratories dedicated to pancreas cancer research—more than at any other academic medical center. Dr. Chabot is the David V. Habif Professor of Surgery, chief of hepato-pancreato-biliary (HPB) surgery, and served as vice president of ColumbiaDoctors for many years. He is known for the close rapport he builds with his patients. A highly-regarded surgeon, he has performed more than 2,500 Whipple procedures—a complex operation to remove pancreatic tumors—and participated in many surgical advances that have steadily improved pancreatic cancer outcomes.Dr. Chabot arrived at Columbia/NewYork-Presbyterian in 1983 as an intern. From intern, resident, and fellow to professor, mentor, and director of the Pancreas Center, he has spent his entire career at Columbia/NewYork-Presbyterian, building an intimate understanding of the culture and practice of medicine and surgery. He sits on the scientific advisory board of LetsWin! Pancreatic Cancer and remains singularly committed to the goal of preventing, treating, and curing pancreatic cancer.

Dr. Michael Hughes is an attending physician and Assistant Professor practicing at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. He received his A.B. in Classics magna cum laude from Harvard College and his MD cum laude from Harvard Medical School. He completed his Internal Medicine residency at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center and Hematology/Oncology fellowship at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center. He is a member of the American College of Physicians, the American Medical Association, the American Society of Hematology, and the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Dr. Hughes' research has explored the interplay between cancer and the immune system. As an undergraduate medical student, he studied immune checkpoint inhibitor-induced gastroenterocolitis. As a Johns Hopkins Physician Scientist Training Pathway Scholar during residency, he investigated outcomes in patients with peripheral T-cell lymphomas after haploidentical blood and marrow transplantation. As an NIH T32-supported fellow, he worked in the Lentzsch Laboratory to develop novel anti-AL amyloidosis fibril therapies. For his contributions, Dr. Hughes was awarded the 2024 ASCO/Conquer Cancer Young Investigator Award and the 2025 Amyloidosis Foundation Research Grant. Dr. Hughes cares primarily for patients with plasma cell disorders, including multiple myeloma, amyloidosis, MGUS, POEMS syndrome, and Waldenstrom's macroglobulinemia. His current translational research interests focus on machine learning/deep learning-assisted outcome prediction in these diseases and the ongoing development of novel anti-AL amyloidosis fibril strategies.

Dr. Engel is a Professor of Medicine at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University and Attending Physician at New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center. He received his undergraduate degree from Yale University and medical degree from Cornell University Medical College. He completed his post-graduate cardiology fellowship training at Columbia University Medical Center with advanced fellowship training in echocardiography.Dr. Engel is a clinical noninvasive cardiologist with expertise in preventative cardiology, valvular and coronary heart disease, arrhythmic disorders and cardiomyopathies.Dr. Engel has a special area of expertise in Sports Cardiology and in the cardiovascular assessment of athletes. He has published one of the largest echocardiographic studies to date characterizing the Athlete’s Heart in elite American athletes. Through his clinical and research work with athletes, Dr. Engel has gained national recognition in the field of Sports Cardiology and performs consultations for pre-participation cardiovascular exams and assessments, the evaluation of cardiovascular symptoms in athletes and the management of existing cardiac conditions in the competitive athlete as an integral component of his practice. Dr. Engel is the Co-Editor of the textbook, Sports Cardiology: Care of the Athletic Heart from the Clinic to the Sidelines (2021).Dr. Engel additionally is a member of the NYP/CUMC Aortic Center and performs evaluations and provides care for patients with Marfan Syndrome and other genetic aortopathies.He currently serves as the Director of the NYP/CUMC Sports Cardiology Program, Co-Director of the NYP/CUMC Marfan and Related Connective Tissue Disorders Clinic, and Director of Echocardiography at the ColumbiaDoctors midtown facility.