Richard J. Barth Jr

Richard J. Barth Jr, MD is Professor of Surgery and Chief of the Section of General Surgery at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine, where he has significantly expanded the surgical faculty from 10 to 24 members. His clinical practice focuses on breast cancer, melanoma, pancreas cancer, and metastatic liver tumors, performing approximately 250 operations annually with over 95% patient satisfaction ratings.

Dr. Barth earned his A.B. in Biochemical Sciences from Princeton (1981) and his M.D. from Harvard (1985), followed by a research fellowship in Steve Rosenberg's lab at the NCI Surgery Branch. His educational background established the foundation for his dual career in surgical oncology and immunotherapy research.

His research spans three major domains: 1) Development of novel methods to increase precision in breast conserving surgery, including founding CairnSurgical, Inc. to commercialize the Breast Cancer Locator device; 2) Appropriate opioid prescribing after surgery, where his work demonstrated that 75% of prescribed opioids go unused and developed interventions to reduce prescriptions by 50%; and 3) Cancer immunotherapy, with seminal work on tumor infiltrating lymphocytes and dendritic cell vaccines. His clinical trial of a dendritic cell vaccine for metastatic colorectal cancer showed 66% of patients developed immune responses with improved 5-year recurrence-free survival.

Analysis of his recent publications reveals a consistent trajectory from foundational immunology research toward practical clinical innovations addressing surgical precision and the opioid epidemic. His work increasingly focuses on implementing evidence-based changes in surgical practice through device development, clinical guidelines, and healthcare system interventions.

• Arthur Naitove Award and Surgery Chief Resident's Award for teaching excellence
• Dartmouth Mosenthal Surgical Fellowship and DMS Excellence in Teaching Award
• Alma Hass Milham Award for clinical excellence and compassionate patient care
• Recognition as Leading Physician in Breast and General Surgery by NH Magazine
• Finalist for Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award (twice)

Dr. Barth has mentored 25 residents, medical and PhD students in research projects resulting in national presentations and publications, with two advancing to surgical oncology faculty positions. His administrative leadership includes directing the GI Oncology Program, chairing the Clinical Cancer Care Committee, and co-directing the Immunology and Cancer Immunotherapy Research Program. He has secured significant funding including NIH R21 and SBIR grants for his surgical device development work.

As Section Chief of General Surgery, he developed a multidisciplinary collaboration with four community hospitals and established specialized divisions in colorectal surgery and acute care/trauma. His laboratory work in cancer immunotherapy evolved into clinical applications through the Dartmouth Immunology COBRE grant-funded DC vaccine trial, demonstrating the translational research pipeline from bench to bedside.