Man does not liveby bread alone.What else doesone need depends on thethinking of the person. ToDr. Dattatreyudu Nori, it isa touch of spirituality thatlends strength to him as amedical professional. Aderivative of thespirituality that hepossesses and practices isthe desire to serve and helpthe less fortunate in society.In Dr. Nori one sees aglorious combination ofmaterial success andspiritual excellence.Dr. Dattatreyudu NoriM.D., FACR, FACRO, isProfessor and ExecutiveVice Chairman of theRadiation OncologyDepartment at TheNewYork-PresbyterianHospital/Weill CornellMedical College in NewYork City.

In addition, Dr.Nori is Chairman ofRadiation Oncology at TheNew York Hospital MedicalCenter of Queens. He isalso the Director of theCancer Center at the NewYork Hospital Queens, inwhich capacity he headsthat organization’s cancerprogram. Dr. Noricompleted hisundergraduate training atKurnool Medical Collegeand received hispostgraduate medicaldegree from OsmaniaUniversity in India. Hethen joined the staff ofMemorial Sloan-KetteringCancer Center in New YorkCity, where he becameChief of the BrachytherapyService before acceptingthe current position asChairman of RadiationOncology at Cornell.Dr. Nori has aninternational reputation asa pioneer and authority inradiation oncology andbrachytherapy. He wasinstrumental inintroducing the currenttechniques and clinicalconcepts of High Dose RateBrachytherapy forgynecological,genitourinary, thoracic andhead and neck tumors.

His research also included efforts to improve the outcome forpatients with prostate cancer,lung cancer, pancreas, breast andother cancers. Dr. Nori has servedas principal investigator fornumerous clinical trailssponsored by the National CancerInstitute and has received severalnational and internationalawards for his contributions tocancer research, including theDistinguished Alumnus Award ofthe Memorial Sloan-KetteringCancer Center Alumni Society. Hehas been called “a recognizedleader in his specialty” by theprestigious New England Journalof Medicine.Dr. Nori served in theAmerican Cancer Society invarious positions includingChairmanship of the ProfessionalEducation Committee. TheAmerican Cancer Societyhonored him with their highestprestigious award “Tribute toLife” for his accomplishments incancer research.

Dr. Nori has trained more than150 residents and fellows, some ofwhom have become Chairman ofacademic departments in the U.S.Dr. Nori is a Fellow in theAmerican College of Radiology,Fellow in the American College ofRadiation Oncology, pastPresident of the AmericanBrachytherapy Society, and acurrent member of severalnational and internationaloncology societies. He is also anAssociate Editor of threeoncology journals as well as aVisiting Professor to manyuniversities in the U.S. andabroad. He has published threebooks and more than 200scientific articles. He has givenseveral prestigious lectureshipssuch as the Probstein Oncologylecture at Washington Universityin St. Louis.

He received a GoldMedal from the Indian MedicalAssociation for his contributionsto cancer research and trainingIndian physicians in the U.S. Healso received the Excelsior Awardfrom the Network of IndianProfessionals in the United Statesand many Indian Organizationsin the U.S., such as the NargisDutt Cancer Foundation and theFederation of Indian Associationshave honored him for hiscontributions to cancer research.Dr. Nori has provided technicaland scientific help to manycancer centers in India, SouthAmerica and Israel, and he is alsothe Founding Member of theIndo-American Cancer Institutefor Women and Children, a stateof-the art 250 bed cancer andresearch institute located inHyderabad, A.P. which wasinaugurated by the PrimeMinister of India in 2001.

In addition, Dr. Nori is a Consultantto the United NationsInternational Atomic EnergyAgency, advising on theformulation of guidelines for thetreatment of cancer in developingcountries. In a recent surveyconducted by the reputable CastleConnolly Medical Ltd andpublished in America’s TopDoctors, Dr. Nori has beenselected as one of the top doctorsin America. In this survey, morethan 250,000 leading doctors wereasked to name the nation’s bestphysicians in various specialties -those “to whom you would sendmembers of your family”. Themost important criterion forphysician selection wasexcellence in patient care,education, residency, boardcertification, fellowships,professional reputation, research,hospital affiliation, academicstature and medical schoolfaculty appointment andexperience.

In a more recentsurvey done by the most popularwoman’s magazine in the U.S.,The Ladies’ Home Journal, Dr.Nori has also been named as oneof the top doctors in America forthe treatment of cancers inwomen. Dr. Nori was alsohonored by Senator Jon Corgine,Chairman of the DemocraticSenatorial Committee and byCouncil Speaker Gifford Milllerfor his contributions to cancerresearch.Dr. Nori continues to be activeas clinician, teacher, researcherand administrator of two largeRadiation Oncology Departmentsand the Cancer Center at NewYork Hospital Queens.As I write his profile here inNew York Dr. Nori is away toIndia where he is addressing aGlobal Health Summit in Kochifrom January 2 to 5. Dr. Nori isthere to talk about prevention ofCervical cancer in India.

He isthere to give out the message thatit can be prevented in India justas well as it is prevented in USA.Dr. Nori is a visiting professor tomany universities across theglobe and is frequently traveling.In India, which is his countryof origin, he has helped set up anumber of hospitals. One suchhospital – Indo American CancerHospital with 500 beds is state ofthe art cancer hospital inHyderabad. It was founded in2002 and was inaugurated by thethen Prime Minister of India Mr.Atal Behari Vajpayee.Dr. Nori lives with his wifeSubhadra in Scarsdale, New York.His wife is a physician,academician and chairperson ofthe Department of Rehabilitationat Jacobi Medical Centeraffiliated with Albert EinsteinCollege of Medicine in New York.His son, Sateesh and daughterin-law Joy, are both attorneysand his daughter, Priya and sonin-law Himanshu, are bothphysicians.