Singh to Advance Northwell’s Skin Cancer Program With Surgical Director Promotion

Bhuvanesh Singh, MD, has big plans for enhancing the skin cancer program at Northwell Health.

Credit: Northwell Health

In 2025, an estimated 104,960 patients will be diagnosed with melanoma of the skin, which will account for 5.1% of all new cancer cases. However, the 5-year survival rate between 2015 and 2021 is 94.7%. Survival from a common cancer is made possible by Bhuvanesh Singh, MD, and many others who dedicate their lives to the treatment of skin cancers.

During his nearly 30-year career, Singh, who is a board-certified otolaryngologist with a specialization in head and neck surgery, has found interest and expertise in diagnosing, treating, and seeking ways to cure skin cancer. His interest in this space has led him to a new career position, which will be to develop even more widespread care and opportunities for patients with skin cancer.

In September 2024, Singh was appointed by the Northwell Health Cancer Institute as surgical director of its Skin Cancer Program. He aims to develop integrated, multidisciplinary centers focused on skin cancer care that include dermatology, Mohs surgery, surgical oncology, plastic and reconstructive surgery, and even radiation and chemotherapy.

Having just stepped into this role, CancerNetwork® spoke with Singh about his appointment, his career accomplishments up to this point, and how he hopes to see Northwell and the field of skin cancer evolve.

Finding the Right Career Fit

Most clinicians are driven to the oncology career path because of either a passion for science, wanting to make a difference in patients’ lives, or having been affected by cancer personally. For Singh, he describes his career path as “non-linear”.

After graduating from high school, he went into an accelerated dental program, but his motivations for this choice were tied to the track and field scholarship he was given. After this realization, he quickly switched into a medical-focused plan at SUNY Downstate, but at that point had no intention of becoming a surgeon.

His passion for surgery came after his surgical rotations. He initially believed he wanted to focus on cardiac surgery, until he witnessed head and neck surgery, and knew that was where he was meant to be.

“Ultimately, I matched into an ENT program and [underwent] ENT training, but [it had] always been my intention to do head and neck cancer surgery. I was fortunate enough then to go to Memorial Sloan Kettering [MSK] for fellowship training. During my fellowship, I was part of an NIH-funded research program. The time spent in the laboratory got me interested to a point where, as part of giving me a position at MSK, they agreed to allow me to complete a PhD–to allow me to continue my basic research. Ultimately, I wore multiple hats [at MSK],” Singh said.

Having completed work on a multitude of projects surrounding clinical research and especially his laboratory work, Singh felt it was the right time to look for additional opportunities, as many of his projects with MSK were beginning to wrap up.

A New Outlook on Career Opportunities

Looking back on his work at MSK, the real goal was to begin and build a skin cancer program. Over the last 10 years, he was able to do so. When this new opportunity at Northwell arose to work on a system-wide skin care program, his interest was piqued by what this could become.

“What I'm hoping to achieve here is not only to provide the best care we can to the patients that come to our system, but to play a leadership role in modeling what should happen from the basic level of trying to develop a new specialty of physicians that focuses solely on skin cancer care,” Singh said. “As part of this program, I hope to partner in the development of novel therapeutic approaches with scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Northwell’s Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, as well as develop and run clinical trials to advance the care of patients with skin cancer worldwide.”

Singh noted he wouldn’t be satisfied with the status quo. He has much bigger plans and hopes for what this program at Northwell can be. He knows that what they are developing can leave an impact.

While Singh and his team have a concrete plan, they are actively looking for a location to build the center. The first one will be in Long Island, with expansions to Westchester, Connecticut, and New York City. Additionally, he is looking for interested physicians within Northwell and beyond who would be interested in this new opportunity.

The reason for building this new dedicated center is to put all the resources under one roof, to enhance the patient experience. So, when a patient comes in for treatment, they will not have to visit multiple offices to get the care they need.

Additionally, Northwell has an expansive surgery unit, and Singh plans to “harness the large patient volume” to understand needs and optimize care. He plans to create organization and homogeneity of care throughout the Northwell system. He will then create patient databases to investigate if outcomes are being accomplished and the best care is being delivered to all patients treated at Northwell.

Highlights From an Expansive Career

Looking back at his career, Singh is most proud of the work he did in discovering the gene DCUN1D1. He spent the entirety of his career defining the function of the gene, and within the last 5 years, he began developing novel drugs that could inactivate the gene to treat cancer in humans.

So far, the drug he and his collaborators developed has shown promise in animal models, and a commercial company is working on optimizing this drug for human use.

“My dream, which I never thought I could realize, was to have something that would cure those who aren’t getting cured. It looks so promising in animal models that there’s a high possibility that this will work in humans. That would be truly a dream come true,” Singh said.

Over the last 30 years, Singh has seen a dramatic shift in the surgery and skin cancer fields. When he first began, quality of life (QOL) was not much of a focus. The mindset was, whatever can cure the patient, they will have to adapt to the QOL they are given. He has seen a dramatic shift in QOL focus to looking at life after therapy.

From the medical oncology standpoint, Singh noted that the introduction of immune checkpoint inhibitors has changed the skin cancer field drastically. He also highlighted that current research is in its exponential growth phase.

He related to taking 25 years to develop and understand the DCUN1D1 gene, but now that same work can be cut down to a third of the time. As the knowledge of biology is expanding, he expects to see new innovations happening in medicine.

Looking Towards the Future

As with any disease state, there is much ongoing research toward finding a cure. He’s excited to work with a colleague at Rockefeller University who specializes in biology to establish collaborations between them and Northwell. Additionally, he wants to create further collaborations between surgical specialists and dermatologists to create a unique fellowship where clinicians can be trained specifically in this area.

Education of junior faculty is always top of mind, as is the doctor/patient relationship. Singh is working on developing a training curriculum to better educate residents and fellows on how to interact with patients and create meaningful relationships.

“We’re going to see a lot of new, exciting things happening in medicine. It’s a great time to be in the field,” Singh concluded.

References

1. Cancer stat facts: melanoma of the skin. National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program. Accessed June 30, 2025. https://tinyurl.com/pejdr5f6
2. Northwell appoints Dr. Bhuvanesh Singh as surgical director of new Skin Cancer Program. Northwell Health. September 24, 2024. Accessed June 30, 2025. https://tinyurl.com/2swjhh25