Dr. Alexander M. Barbaro

Alexander Barbaro, MD, specializes in medical oncology, hematology and internal medicine, and is an assistant professor at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell.Drawing on a lifelong love of science, Dr. Barbaro first became attracted to medicine because it combined research with making a difference in people's lives. After earning his medical degree at Temple University School of Medicine, he did a residency at Montefiore Medical Center and a fellowship at NYU Langone Health. He chose oncology as a specialty because, during training, he saw and appreciated the patient-doctor relationships forged in that field.In some specialties, you may see a patient once for 15 minutes. But with oncology, you're on a journey with a patient, you're working together, he says. You have deep, meaningful relationships and that's what attracted me, along with the innovations in cancer care, which are very exciting.Dr. Barbaro joined Northwell in 2023, in part because it allowed him to expand his ability to teach. He'd been a physics tutor in college, and then received a commendation during residency for organizing lectures for medical students. That passion for education extends to patient care because it provides a level of empowerment and advocacy that's essential for oncology patients and their families, he believes.Doctors should be teachers as well as care providers, says Dr. Barbaro. I take the approach where I'm not just spitting jargon at patients, I'm helping them understand what it means to have this diagnosis and what treatment entails. It's incredibly important to me to educate patients in a way that gives them more confidence and a sense of control over their care.He's establishing a working group at Northwell focusing on patient education, especially when it comes to side effects of new cancer therapies. His goal is to stratify risks and anticipate side effects in a way that leads to minimizing them, in order to keep boosting beneficial outcomes.In terms of what patients have taught him, Dr. Barbaro says he's learned about resiliency, particularly in the midst of a difficult diagnosis. He's often inspired by the strength of his patients, as well as that of their families and friends. Almost every day, I'm impressed by the human spirit, he says.

His top areas of expertise are Thyroid Cancer and Salivary Gland Tumors.

His clinical research consists of co-authoring 3 peer reviewed articles. MediFind looks at clinical research from the past 15 years.