Dr. Zsiros is a Buffalo Spree Top Doctor! See all of our physicians who made this year's list.
Cancers Treated:
Specializing In:
Abnormal pap smear Cervical dysplasia Cervical lesions Cervix biopsy Colposcopy Trophoblastic disease Gynecologic cancer surgery Gynecological chemotherapy Laparotomy Complex laparoscopic surgery Robotic surgery Minimally invasive surgery Cancer prevention Cancer vaccine therapies and novel clinical trials Immunotherapy and novel clinical trialsResearch Interests:
Immunotherapy approaches for gynecological malignancies Early phase clinical trials Clinical trial design and implementation Cell therapy Translational research Quality improvement projects Artificial Intelligence in cancer researchAbout Emese Zsiros
Biography:
I hold the prestigious Shashi Lele MD Endowed Chair in Gynecologic Oncology at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in Buffalo, NY. I completed my MD and PhD at the University of Debrecen, Hungary, where I distinguished myself in the top 1% of my class and accumulated numerous academic accolades.
During my OB/GYN residency at Northwestern University in Chicago, I conducted significant basic science research. I further refined my expertise in gynecologic oncology during a fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, mentored by the esteemed George Coukos, MD, PhD. There, I played a key role in early-phase immunotherapy clinical trials targeting ovarian cancer.
After my fellowship, I joined Roswell Park in 2014 and was appointed as the first female surgical chair of the Department of Gynecologic Oncology in 2022. That same year, I was named co-leader of the Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Program, part of the Cancer Center Support Grant from the NCI. In this capacity, I am instrumental in defining strategic research directions, advancing scientific initiatives, and mentoring faculty, significantly impacting groundbreaking clinical trials.
I am passionately committed to advancing women's health, focusing on improving survival rates and empowering women throughout their cancer journey. I actively engage in developing innovative treatment modalities, including cell therapies, that ensure longer survival, fewer side effects, and enhanced quality of life. My research has led to involvement in over 145 clinical trials, where I have demonstrated profound expertise in trial design, management, and industry collaboration. I also represent Roswell Park on the NCCN Ovarian Cancer panel. My influential work includes developing a combination therapy now listed as a second-line regimen for recurrent platinum-resistant ovarian cancer in the NCCN guidelines.
In my translational lab, my team and I delve into cell therapies and the ovarian cancer tumor microenvironment, exploring strategies to mitigate immunosuppression and amplify the efficacy of immunotherapies. I also spearheaded establishing the artificial intelligence (AI) research group at Roswell Park, employing machine learning to advance cancer research, and serve on the AI governing board.
Dedicated to mentoring the next generation of medical professionals, I advise fellows, residents, and graduate students on their research projects and guide junior faculty in their translational and clinical research, focusing on ovarian and endometrial cancers. I am also a reviewer on several national panels for the National Cancer Institute.
My excellence in surgery and patient care has been consistently recognized, earning the title of Buffalo Spree’s Top Doctor since 2019. I also received the Buffalo Business First Excellence in Healthcare Award in 2023 for my work on opioid prescribing reduction in Western NY. As a visionary leader, I am dedicated to elevating the Gynecologic Oncology Department and transforming patient outcomes with state-of-the-art immunotherapeutic strategies.
Positions
- Associate Professor of Oncology
- Chair, Department of Gynecologic Oncology
- Shashi Lele, MD, Endowed Chair in Gynecologic Oncology
- Co-Leader, Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy CCSG Program
Jacobs School Of Medicine And Biomedical Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo
- Clinical Associate Professor
Background
Education and Training:
- 2011 - PhD - Department of Biophysics and Cell Biology – University of Debrecen Medical and Health Science Center, Debrecen, Hungary in conjunction with the Universidad de Complutense, Madrid, Spain
- 2005 - MD/PhD - Membrane Physiology Program – University of Debrecen Medical and Health Science Center, Debrecen, Hungary and Universidad de Alcala de Henares, Spain
Residency:
- 2011 - OB/GYN – McGaw Medical Center, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
Fellowship:
- 2014 - Gynecologic Oncology – University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
Board Certification:
- Obstetrics and Gynecology, American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Gynecologic Oncology: American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Professional Memberships:
- Diplomate of the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG)
- Fellow of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (FACOG)
- Full member of the Society of Gynecologic Oncology (SGO)
- Full Member of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR)
- Full Member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO)
- Associate Active Member of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES)
- Full Member of Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC)
- Full Member of the European Society of Medical Oncology (ESMO)
- Member of the American Medical Association (AMA)
- Member of the Buffalo Gynecologic and Obstetric Society
Professional Experience:
- 2024-present - Member of the AI Governance Board at Roswell Park
- 2023-present - Founder of the AI research interest group at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
- 2022-present - Co-leader of the Tumor Immunology and Immunotherapy Program in the CCSG
- 2020-present - Redesigning Oncology Care for the Future – Physician Champion, Member, Roswell Park
- 2020-present - COVID-19 Patient Safety Committee, Member, Roswell Park
- 2018-present - Physician Quality Officer, Roswell Park
- 2018-present - Data Safety Monitoring Board, Roswell Park
- 2018-present - Microbiome Interest Group, Physician Co-leader, Roswell Park
- 2017-present - Surgical Services Executive Committee, Roswell Park
Honors & Awards:
- 2024 - Feature article, Traffic East Magazine
- 2023 - Buffalo Business First featured article, “These four researchers are working hard to make a difference in the field of cancer”
- 2023 - Buffalo Business First Excellence in Healthcare Awardee
- 2022 - Featured panelist, “In Honor of the International Day of Women in Science," Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center
- 2019-2024 - Buffalo Spree’s Top Doctors
- 2017 - Oncology and Surgery Representative in Innovation Lab Buffalo for the Radical Solutions to the Opioid Misuse Epidemic
- 2011 - Ralph Reis Research Award, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Northwestern University
- 2005 - Paul Harris Fellowship, Rotary International
- 2005 - Outstanding Research Award, Hungarian Society of Physiologists
- 2003, 2004 - Educational Scholarship, Republic of Hungary (awarded to the top 1% of medical students in Hungary)
Clinical Trials
Featured on Cancer Talk
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Publications
Zsiros E, Lynam S, Attwood KM, Wang C, Chilakapati S, Gomez EC, Liu S, Akers S, Lele S, Frederick PJ, Odunsi K. Efficacy and Safety of Pembrolizumab in Combination With Bevacizumab and Oral Metronomic Cyclophosphamide in the Treatment of Recurrent Ovarian Cancer: A Phase 2 Nonrandomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Oncol. 2021 Jan 1;7(1):78-85. PMID: 33211063. PMCID: PMC7677872
Zsiros E, Ricciuti J, Gallo S, Argentieri D, Attwood K, Ji W, Hutson A, Visco P, Coffey D, Riebandt G, Mark J, Varghese A, Hess SM, Furlani T, Fabiano A, Hennon M, Yendamuri S, Kauffman EC, Wooten KE, Hicks WL Jr, Young J, Takabe K, Odunsi K, Case AA, Segal BH, Johnson CS, Kuvshinoff B 2nd, Nurkin S, Paragh G, de Leon-Casasola O. Postoperative Restrictive Opioid Protocols and Durable Changes in Opioid Prescribing and Chronic Opioid Use. JAMA Oncol. 2023 Feb 1;9(2):234-241. PMID: 36602807. PMCID: PMC9857779
Disis ML, Adams SF, Bajpai J, Butler MO, Curiel T, Dodt SA, Doherty L, Emens LA, Friedman CF, Gatti-Mays M, Geller MA, Jazaeri A, John VS, Kurnit KC, Liao JB, Mahdi H, Mills A, Zsiros E, Odunsi K. Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC) clinical practice guideline on immunotherapy for the treatment of gynecologic cancer. J Immunother Cancer. 2023 Jun;11(6):e006624. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2022-006624. PMID: 37295818. PMCID: PMC10277149
McGray AJR, Chiello JL, Tsuji T, Long M, Maraszek K, Gaulin N, Rosario SR, Hess SM, Abrams SI, Kozbor D, Odunsi K, Zsiros E. BiTE secretion by adoptively transferred stem-like T cells improves FRα+ ovarian cancer control. J Immunother Cancer. 2023 Jun;11(6):e006863. doi: 10.1136/jitc-2023-006863. Epub 2023 Jun 23. PMID: 37647218. PMCID: PMC1031469
Chilakapati SR, Ricciuti J, Zsiros E. Microbiome and cancer immunotherapy. Curr Opin Biotechnol. 2020 Oct;65:114-117. doi: 10.1016/j.copbio.2020.02.007. Epub 2020 Mar 17.
Odunsi K, Qian F, Lugade AA, Yu H, Geller MA, Fling SP, Kaiser JC, Lacroix AM, D'Amico L, Ramchurren N, Morishima C, Disis ML, Dennis L, Danaher P, Warren S, Nguyen VA, Ravi S, Tsuji T, Rosario S, Zha W, Hutson A, Liu S, Lele S, Zsiros E, McGray AJR, Chiello J, Koya R, Chodon T, Morrison CD, Putluri V, Putluri N, Mager DE, Gunawan R, Cheever MA, Battaglia S, Matsuzaki J. Metabolic adaptation of ovarian tumors in patients treated with an IDO1 inhibitor constrains antitumor immune responses. Sci Transl Med. 2022 Mar 16;14(636):eabg8402. Epub 2022 Mar 16. PMID: 35294258. PMCID: PMC9311231