Tampa General Hospital Welcomes World-Renowned Oncologist Dr. Eduardo M. Sotomayor to Lead New TGH Cancer Institute

The new Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute will provide next-generation care and treatment.

Tampa, FL (April 16, 2021) – Tampa General Hospital announced today Eduardo M. Sotomayor, MD, as the director of its newly established Cancer Institute to provide world-class, innovative cancer care in one of Florida’s leading academic medical centers. Internationally recognized as a pioneer in the field of cancer immunology and immunotherapy and a renowned expert in lymphoma research and treatment, Sotomayor will lead a team of accomplished TGH cancer specialists who will further develop the hospital’s cancer clinical care and clinical research services to provide next-generation care and multidisciplinary treatment.

Sotomayor joins Tampa General from the George Washington University Cancer Center in Washington, DC, where he directed all cancer care and research activities during the past five years. His ongoing research in cancer immunology and immunotherapy focuses on developing novel, immune-based approaches for the treatment of lymphomas and other hematologic malignancies. He is an internationally renowned expert in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), an aggressive form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Previously, Sotomayor held leadership roles in some of the country’s nationally ranked cancer programs.

“Dr. Sotomayor is an outstanding clinician and researcher, and we are thrilled to welcome him to the Tampa General team,” said John Couris, president and chief executive officer. “His expertise will help provide an even more sophisticated level of treatment at Tampa General and will ensure we continue to deliver the safest and most innovative care for our cancer patients and their families.”

Building on the success of the Tampa General Hospital oncology program -- rated among the top 10 percent for cancer care in the U.S. according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2020-2021 rankings -- the new Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute will provide comprehensive care via groundbreaking therapies and advanced diagnostic imaging tools. Sotomayor joins nationally recognized radiation oncologist and researcher Richard Tuli, MD, PhD, who recently joined the team from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, to pursue cutting-edge treatments that offer comprehensive and personalized care to patients.

“I’m honored and thrilled to return back home to join the impressive and forward-thinking Tampa General team and look forward to building an innovative Cancer Institute together,” said Sotomayor. “Our priority is to use the latest research and therapies to provide the best care to patients in Florida and beyond, with special emphasis in breaking the barriers to access to cancer care to the community we serve.”

Sotomayor has more than 140 publications including seminal discoveries published in top-tier journals such as Nature Immunology, Nature Medicine, Blood, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Cancer Cell among others. He has been the recipient of several awards, including the recipient of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) CURE Lifetime Achievement award in 2017.

In addition, Sotomayor is involved in several major medical societies and organizations and currently is a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Lymphoma Research Foundation, member of the Executive Committee of the Mantle Cell Lymphoma Consortium and member of several committees of the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR). He has also served on committees at the American Society of Hematology (ASH), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) including a six-year service in the prestigious Sub-committee A charged with reviewing all NCI-designated Cancer Centers in the US. 

“Dr. Sotomayor is a proven leader in the field of medical oncology, an accomplished physician scientist and a leading authority in heme malignancies,” said Dr. Abraham Schwarzberg, chief of oncology at Tampa General Hospital. “His addition will help us become the leading cancer program in our community, state and region and accelerate our journey to becoming an NCI designated cancer institute.”

Through the Cancer Institute, Tampa General’s cancer physicians will offer a highly coordinated range of multidisciplinary specialties such as hematologic malignancies, stem cell and cellular therapies; neuro-oncology, thoracic oncology, breast, colorectal and gynecologic oncology. Advanced subspecialties will be offered as well, including liver and hepatobiliary oncology, otolaryngology (ear, nose and throat) and genitourinary (reproductive system and genitourinary tract). Tampa General will continue to take a multidisciplinary approach and will strongly emphasize compassionate and personalized care that focuses on the whole patient. For more information about the Tampa General Hospital Cancer Institute, visit www.tgh.org/cancer.

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ABOUT TAMPA GENERAL HOSPITAL
Tampa General Hospital, a 1007-bed non-profit academic medical center, is one of the largest hospitals in America and delivers world-class care as the region’s only center for Level l trauma and comprehensive burn care. Tampa General Hospital is the highest-ranked hospital in the market in U.S. News & World Report’s 2020-21 Best Hospitals, and one of the top 4 hospitals in Florida, with five specialties ranking among the best programs in the United States. It is one of the nation’s busiest adult solid organ transplant centers and is the primary teaching hospital for the USF Health Morsani College of Medicine. With five medical helicopters, Tampa General Hospital transports critically injured or ill patients from 23 surrounding counties to receive the advanced care they need. Tampa General houses a nationally accredited comprehensive stroke center and its 32-bed Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit is the largest on the West Coast of Florida. It also is home to the Jennifer Leigh Muma 82-bed Level IV neonatal intensive care unit, and a nationally accredited rehabilitation center. Tampa General Hospital’s footprint includes 17 Tampa General Medical Group Primary Care offices, TGH Family Care Center Kennedy, TGH Brandon Healthplex, TGH Virtual Health and 19 outpatient Radiology Centers. Tampa Bay residents also receive world-class care from the TGH Urgent Care powered by Fast Track network of clinics, and they can even receive home visits in select areas through TGH Urgent Care at Home, powered by Fast Track.  As one of the largest hospitals in the country, Tampa General Hospital is first in Florida to partner with GE Healthcare and open a clinical command center that uses artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to improve and better coordinate patient care at a lower cost.  For more information, go to www.tgh.org.