Oren Becher, MD

Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Dr. Oren Becher, MD is a Professor of Pediatrics and Professor of Oncological Sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.  As a physician scientist, he leads a research group in addition to teaching students and seeing patients. Dr. Becher’s research, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Department of Defense (DOD), uses genetically engineered mouse models to identify more effective therapies for children with DIPG or diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.  DIPG is an incurable childhood brain cancer that arises in the brainstem.  Dr. Becher developed the first genetically engineered mouse models for DIPG.  His research team is currently evaluating novel therapies in such models and are also developing novel models for other types of childhood brain cancers.  Dr. Becher’s research has been published in top scientific journals, and he serves on the advisory board of several leading pediatric cancer foundations.   Dr. Becher has also initiated clinical trials for children with solid tumors evaluating novel therapies. In addition to directing a research group, Dr. Becher provides patient care as a pediatric hematologist-oncologist and supervises pre- and post-doctoral trainees.  He serves as a grant reviewer for several organizations including NIH.  Dr. Becher has won numerous awards including being named a Damon Runyon Clinical Investigator, a St. Baldrick’s scholar, a Forbeck scholar, and a Hyundai Hope on Wheels scholar. Dr. Becher earned his BA magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania, and MD from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.  He completed his pediatric residency at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington DC and fellowship in Pediatric Hematology-Oncology and Pediatric Neuro-Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in NYC.  Dr. Becher was on the faculty at Duke and Northwestern prior to coming to Mount Sinai.