Specializing In:
- Pain and symptom management
- Serious illness communication
- Palliative care
- Geriatrics
Research Interests:
- Quality of life
Biography
Desi Carozza, M.D., is an Assistant Professor at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine at SUNY at Buffalo Jacobs School of Medicine & Biomedical Sciences.
Dr. Carozza earned her medical degree at Drexel University College of Medicine and completed a residency in Internal Medicine/Pediatrics at University of Tennessee Health Sciences. She went on to complete fellowships in Geriatrics and Palliative Care and Hospice from the University of Colorado in Aurora, Colorado.
She is boarded by the American Board of Internal Medicine in Internal Medicine, Palliative Care and Hospice, and Geriatrics. She joined the Roswell Park faculty in 2019 in the Department of Supportive Care.
Dr. Carozza specializes is in the field of palliative medicine with a focus on communication and complex decision making. She serves on the High Risk Surgical Committee and Ethics Committee at Roswell Park and has a strong interest in graduate medical education for all learners.
She has delivered a number of invited lectures and published academic articles. Her educational and scholarly activities have been recognized by Buffalo Spree’s Top Doctors.
Her clinical focus includes symptom management for patients with complex illness and advance care planning
Positions
Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
- Associate Professor of Oncology
- Medical Director, Older Adult Oncology
- Co-Chair of Bioethics
- Department of Supportive and Palliative Care
State University of New York at Buffalo
- Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine
National Comprehensive Cancer Network
- Older Adult Oncology Committee Member
Background
Education and Training
- 2004-2008 - MD - Drexel College of Medicine, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA
Residency
- 2008-2012 - Internal Medicine/Pediatrics, University of Tennessee, Memphis, TN
- HCEC Certification Commission
Fellowship
- 2013-2014 - Hospice and Palliative Care, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO
- 2012-2013 - Geriatrics Fellowship, University of Colorado, Aurora, CO
Board Certification
- American Board of Internal Medicine – Internal Medicine
- American Board of Internal Medicine - Hospice and Palliative Care
- American Board of Internal Medicine - Geriatrics
Professional Memberships
- 2025-present - Cancer Bioethics Consortium
- 2023-present - Society International Onco-Geriatrics (SIOG)
- 2023-present - Empire State Bioethics Consortium
- 2023-present - Canopy Cancer Collective
- 2022-present - American Society for Bioethics and Humanities
- 2020-present - Cancer in Aging Research Group (CARG)
- 2014-present - American Geriatrics Society
- 2012-present - American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM)
Honors & Awards
- 2021-2025 - Buffalo Spree Top Doctors
- 2023 - Palliative Care Fellow Research Mentor Award
- 2022 - Fellow in American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Care
- 2022 - Richard Sarkin Emeritus Faculty Chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society
- American Hospital Association Next Generation Fellowship
Featured on CancerTalk
Publications
1. Lipinski, L., Carozza, D., Kemp, A M. et al. Thematic Analysis of Barriers to Completion of a Healthcare Proxy at a Comprehensive Cancer Center. J Canc Educ (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13187-025-02625-y
2. Lipinski, L., Carozza, D., Kemp, A M. and Gupta, S. (2025) Collaborative Approach to Cancer Care in Patients Who Have Co-Existing Severe Mental Illness With Psychotic Features. Psycho-Oncology, 34: e70114. https://doi.org/10.1002/pon.70114
3. Torka, P., Akhtar, O., Kaijar, T., Wang, K., Attwood, K., Carozza, D., Bouchard, E., Ghione, P., Cortese, M., Wildes, T., & Hernandez‐Ilizaliturri, F. (2023). Association between geriatric impairments and quality of life in older adults with lymphoma on oral targeted therapies: A one‐year prospective study. Hematological Oncology, 41(S2), 174–175. https://doi.org/10.1002/hon.3125
4. Walter M, Hansen E, Hamid S, Carozza D, Mann G, Roche C, George A, Attwood K, Case A. Palliative Management of Inoperable Malignant Bowel Obstruction: Prospective, Open Label, Phase 2 Study at an NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center. J Pain Symptom Manage. 2024 Jan;67(1):20-26. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2023.09.014. Epub 2023 Sep 27. PMID: 37769820.
5. Akhtar, O., Carozza, D., Wildes, T., Chowdhry, S., Gage-Bouchard, E., Sundaram, S., Ghione, P., Hernandez-Ilizaliturri, F., & Torka, P. (2021). Evaluating the role of baseline geriatric assessment in predicting adherence to oral targeted therapies and outcomes in older adults with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 39(15_suppl), e19527. https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2021.39.15_suppl.e19527