Dr. Leah Thompson Joins the New York Proton Center
New York, NY – September 8, 2026 — The New York Proton Center (NYPC) announced that Dr. Leah Thompson has joined the organization as its newest radiation oncologist. Dr. Thompson will specialize in treatment of brain tumors as well as lung and breast cancers.
Dr. Thompson joins NYPC following a residency at the Harvard Radiation Oncology program, where she served as Education Chief Resident. She earned her medical degree from Harvard Medical School and her B.A. summa cum laude from Amherst College. “I am honored to join the New York Proton Center and this outstanding team,” said Dr. Thompson. “Reducing toxicity and improving quality-of-life through proton therapy matters to me because treating cancer isn’t just about survival. For the older adults and patients with complex diseases that I care for, it’s about protecting what matters most to each person, whether that is their independence, clarity of mind, or ability to keep showing up for the people they love. I am excited to bring a focus on personalized, evidence-based care to NYPC, and to contribute to the clinical innovation, research, and education that drew me here.”
Dr. Thompson’s work focuses on a question at the center of every cancer course: Who will a treatment help, and who will it harm? She builds prognostic tools from underutilized data sources: AI-derived and immune biomarkers, point-of-care metrics, and patient-reported measures. She then redesigns care around what those tools reveal. Much of this work revolves around older adults and others living with serious illness, for whom modest differences in how treatment is tolerated can determine whether they keep their autonomy, cognition, and daily lives intact. She is currently an investigator on several clinical trials that put these ideas into practice, including Lung-GAP, which tests AI-informed supportive care referrals in early-stage lung cancer, and ELITE-GBM, a dose-escalation study in glioblastoma brain tumors.
“Dr. Thompson brings an outstanding combination of clinical expertise, strong academic productivity, and a deep commitment to patient-centered care to the New York Proton Center,” said Dr. Charles B. Simone, II, FASTRO, FACRO, FACR, Chief Medical Officer. “Her expertise in geriatric oncology is particularly valuable in providing personalized treatment for older adults with cancer. We are delighted to welcome her to NYPC and look forward to the contributions she will make to advance proton therapy and clinical care for patients of all ages.”
About the New York Proton Center
The New York Proton Center (NYPC) is creating the gold standard for proton therapy, giving new hope to patients living with cancer. The NYPC is advancing new and better ways to fight cancer with proton therapy, a highly targeted form of radiation therapy with fewer treatment-related complications. In partnership with leading academic medical centers: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Montefiore Health System, and Mount Sinai Health System, NYPC is the only proton center in New York, attracting patients from around the country and the world. Through impactful clinical trials and game-changing clinical research, NYPC’s internationally renowned clinical team continues to revolutionize cancer treatment while offering patients individualized, highly skilled and compassionate care.