Raja Michael Flores is an American thoracic surgeon and former candidate for mayor of New York City, currently Chief of the Division of Thoracic Surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital and Ames Professor of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS or Mount Sinai), formerly the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, is a private medical school in New York City, New York, United States. The school is the academic teaching arm of the Mount Sina ...

, both in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. On March 20, 2021, Dr. Flores announced his campaign for mayor of NYC.

Biography

Flores received a B.A. in

biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

in 1988 and his M.D. from

Albert Einstein College of Medicine The Albert Einstein College of Medicine is a Private university, private medical school in New York City. Founded in 1953, Einstein is an independent degree-granting institution within the Montefiore Einstein Health System. Einstein hosts Doc ...

in 1992. His internship (1992–1993) and residency (1993–1997) at

Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center Columbia University Irving Medical Center (CUIMC) is the academic medical center of Columbia University and the largest campus of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital. The center's academic wing consists of Columbia's colleges and schools of Physician ...

were followed by a Thoracic Oncology Clinical Research Fellowship (1997–1998) in Intraoperative Chemotherapy, Mesothelioma and Lung Cancer at

Brigham and Women's Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH or The Brigham) is a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two ...

Dana–Farber Cancer Institute Dana–Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) is a comprehensive cancer treatment and research center in Boston, Massachusetts. Dana-Farber is the founding member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, Harvard's Comprehensive Cancer Center designated ...

, and a Cardiothoracic Surgery Residency (1998-2000) at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

, both in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, Massachusetts. Flores is currently an editorial board member for the World Journal of Gastrointestinal Surgery, the World Journal of Gastrointestinal Edoscopy and the World Journal of Respirology. He is a reviewer for 13 other journals including Head & Neck, the

Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery ''The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal covering cardiothoracic surgery, cardiology, pulmonary medicine, and vascular disease published by Elsevier. It is the official journal of the Ame ...

, the Journal of Thoracic Oncology and the

Journal of Clinical Oncology The ''Journal of Clinical Oncology'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal published 3 times a month by ASCO Publications. It covers research on all aspects of clinical oncology. The journal was established in 1983 and the editor-in-chief is Jonat ...

. Memberships include the

American College of Chest Physicians The American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) is a medical association in the United States consisting of physicians and non-physician specialists in the field of chest medicine, which includes pulmonology, critical care medicine Intensiv ...

, the American College of Surgeons Oncology Group and the

American Society of Clinical Oncology The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is a professional organization representing physicians of all oncology sub-specialties who care for people with cancer. Founded in 1964 by Fred Ansfield, Harry Bisel, Herman Freckman, Arnoldus G ...

Research

Flores' research has significantly impacted the surgical management of pleural

mesothelioma Mesothelioma is a type of cancer that develops from the thin layer of tissue that covers many of the internal organs (known as the mesothelium). The area most commonly affected is the lining of the lungs and chest wall. Less commonly the lini ...

by demonstrating that partial pleural membrane removal is as effective a treatment as lung removal. He was instrumental in creating

VATS lobectomy Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) lobectomy is an approach to lung cancer surgery. Thoracotomy Anatomic lung resection, i.e. pulmonary lobectomy or pneumonectomy, in conjunction with removal of the lymph nodes from the mediast ...

as the standard in the surgical treatment of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

and is considered a pioneer in the use of

intraoperative The perioperative period is the period of a patient's surgical procedure. It commonly includes ward admission, anesthesia, surgery, and recovery. Perioperative may refer to the three phases of surgery: preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperat ...

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated chemo, sometimes CTX and CTx) is the type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (list of chemotherapeutic agents, chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) in a standard chemotherapy re ...

for

. Flores is the author of more than 60 book chapters, reviews, monographs and abstracts and more than 150 publications. He serves as a reviewer for 13 journals and has been an editorial board member on four journals. He is the principal investigator on five clinical trials and has been ranked in the top 1% in his field by '' U.S. News & World Report''. Flores’ areas of interest include lung cancer screening,

thoracoscopy Thoracoscopy is a medical procedure involving internal examination, biopsy and/or resection/drainage of disease or masses within the pleural cavity, usually with video assistance. Thoracoscopy may be performed either under general anaesthesia o ...

, VATS lobectomy, extrapleural pneumonectomy for mesothelioma,

asbestos Asbestos ( ) is a group of naturally occurring, Toxicity, toxic, carcinogenic and fibrous silicate minerals. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous Crystal habit, crystals, each fibre (particulate with length su ...

tracheal stenosis Laryngotracheal stenosis refers to abnormal narrowing of the central air passageways. This can occur at the level of the larynx, trachea, carina or main bronchi. In a small number of patients narrowing may be present in more than one anatomical ...

, carinal surgery and

esophageal cancer Esophageal cancer (American English) or oesophageal cancer (British English) is cancer arising from the esophagus—the food pipe that runs between the throat and the stomach. Symptoms often include dysphagia, difficulty in swallowing and weigh ...

surgery. He is the principal investigator for a clinical trial of neoadjuvant

gemcitabine Gemcitabine, sold under the brand name Gemzar, among others, is a chemotherapy medication used to treat cancers. It is used to treat testicular cancer, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, non-small cell lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, and bladder ca ...

and cisplatin followed by extrapleural pneumonectomy and high-dose radiation. Other research includes:

Publications

Partial list: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flores, Raja Michael Albert Einstein College of Medicine alumni Living people Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai faculty New York University Grossman School of Medicine alumni American thoracic surgeons Candidates in the 2021 United States elections Year of birth missing (living people)