Monali Vasekar

Dr. Monali Vasekar serves as an Associate Professor in the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Penn State Cancer Institute, part of Penn State University College of Medicine. She holds multiple leadership roles including Associate Program Director for the hematology oncology fellowship program and director of the oncology branch of the Cardio Oncology Working Group. Dr. Vasekar is also the institutional PI/Sub-I on approximately 20 breast cancer trials across phases 2 and 3, working with major cooperative groups including ECOG ACRIN, SWOG, and NRG.

Dr. Vasekar's research focuses on clinical trial development in breast cancer with particular emphasis on immunotherapeutics, disparities in cancer care, and supportive cancer care interventions. Her work includes designing therapeutic capstone trials under the mentorship of nationally renowned clinical trialists, leading the RiseUP committee to improve diversity in cancer clinical trials, and collaborating with CTSI-Informatics for TriNetX database research. She has received significant funding including the Robert A. Winn Diversity in Clinical Trials Career Development Award and a pilot PSCI grant for studying Contrast US in immunotherapeutics for breast cancer patients.

Her recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on breast cancer clinical trials, patient education interventions, and addressing disparities in cancer care. The work spans clinical trials design, digital health interventions for metastatic patients, qualitative analyses of cancer survivors' experiences, and investigations into healthcare utilization patterns among vulnerable populations including those with dementia. Her research consistently addresses critical gaps in breast cancer care delivery and patient outcomes.

• Robert A. Winn Diversity in Clinical Trials: Career Development Award
• Department of Medicine Teacher of the Year award (2022)
• Exceptional Provider recognition in Department of Medicine (Summer 2022)

As Associate Program Director, Dr. Vasekar provides direct mentorship to 12 hematology oncology fellows (four per year), co-leads fellowship candidate selection, and serves on the Clinical Competency Committee. She implemented the longitudinal clinic experience that transformed the fellowship program and created the Fellows Tumor Board educational format. From 2019-2021, she served as a society-advisor-coach for medical students, and regularly conducts teaching sessions for residents, medical students, and PA students. Her educational leadership extends to revising problem-based learning cases and developing innovative teaching formats. Dr. Vasekar also leads the D-CRSE study (Diminishing Chemotherapy related side effects through patient education) and collaborates with distinguished researchers including Dr. Kathryn Schmitz in exercise oncology.

Dr. Vasekar directs the Cardio Oncology Clinic, serves as the primary medical oncology sarcoma expert receiving regional and out-of-state referrals, and plays a key role in the multidisciplinary tumor board. She leads the RiseUP committee focused on improving diversity in cancer clinical trials and maintains active collaborations with researchers studying biomarkers in breast cancer and exercise oncology. Her clinical practice is recognized for excellence with patient satisfaction scores of 4.8/5 based on 279 reviews, and she provides care across inpatient teaching, non-teaching teams, and oncology consults.