About Richard Alexander

Meet Dr. H. Richard Alexander Jr., MD, FACS, a surgical oncologist, cancer researcher, and surgical educator. As Chief Surgical Officer at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and System Director of Surgical Oncology at RWJBarnabas Health, he is dedicated to working with a world-class organization and collaborating with colleagues in the Gastrointestinal/Hepatobiliary Oncology Program to further build and expand the portfolio of treatment and clinical research options for patients who may benefit from the surgical treatment of complex, rare, or recurrent cancers.

Dr. Alexander began his surgical career as a medical officer in the US Navy, serving aboard both the USS Mt. Whitney (LCC-20) and the USS Midway (CV-41). He then completed a fellowship in surgical oncology at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York, and subsequently joined the Surgery Branch of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), where he eventually became a Deputy Director in the Center for Cancer Research.

Throughout his career, Dr. Alexander has focused his clinical and research efforts to define and expand the application of surgical resection for properly selected patients with recurrent or metastatic gastrointestinal cancers, with a particular interest in defining the role of surgical treatment in patients with peritoneal surface metastases from peritoneal mesothelioma, appendiceal cancer, colorectal cancer, and other tumors. He is committed to providing patients exceptional, thoughtful and timely surgical care in the context of a multidisciplinary treatment plan, and values the partnerships he has developed with other physicians who are invested in their patient’s cancer treatment.

Dr. Alexander is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, the American Surgical Association, the Society of Surgical Oncology, and an honorary member of the Royal College of Surgeons (Glasgow). He has received numerous teaching awards, been the recipient of the National Institutes of Health Award of Merit in 2005, served on the Executive Committee, Training Committee, and as chair of the Research Committee for the Society of Surgical Onologists, and will complete his term as chair of the board for the Mesothelioma Applied Research Foundation next year.

He has published over 250 peer-reviewed articles and 50 book chapters and has lectured in 17 countries. He currently serves on the editorial board of the journal, Surgery. Dr. Alexander sees patients at Rutgers Cancer Institute and Monmouth Medical Center.