Michael Ryan Folkert, MD

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Michael Folkert, MD, PhD, is vice chair and chief of brachytherapy at Northwell Health Cancer Institute Radiation Medicine at the Center for Advanced Medicine. He specializes in brachytherapy, radiopharmaceutical therapy and intraoperative radiation therapy. As a clinician, he focuses on genitourinary, gynecological and musculoskeletal cancers. Before becoming a physician, Dr. Folkert earned his PhD in nuclear engineering and radiological sciences through the Harvard/MIT Radiological Sciences joint Program with a focus on charged particle radiation biology research. While working as a research associate in the department of radiation oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital, he recognized that he wanted to work more directly with patients. “I was already veering into the medical aspects of radiation,” he says. “I was working beside physicians in the OR and realized that I preferred what they were doing for those in their care.” Feeling inspired, he decided to enroll in medical school. Dr. Folkert earned his medical degree from Harvard Medical School and completed his residency at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He went on to direct the brachytherapy and intraoperative radiation therapy programs at UT Southwestern before joining Northwell. Dr. Folkert has designed and run and clinical trials in prostate, spine, liver and esophageal cancers, and is a pioneer and world expert in intraoperative radiation therapy for spinal tumors. In addition, he has helped develop brachytherapy applicators for rectal and esophageal cancers and developed techniques for intraoperative CT-guided treatment of spine and liver cancers. His research includes novel tissue sparing techniques in prostate cancer as well. One of the key aspects of care Dr. Folkert addresses with his patients is establishing their treatment goals and expectations. “I like to sit down with them and fully explain what’s going on,” he says. “We pull up their scans together. I want to make sure that they understand our plans entirely.” Dr. Folkert says his background in nuclear engineering, combined with his radiation oncology expertise, helps give him a more nuanced understanding of radiation oncology. “My previous training gives me a unique perspective and enables me to offer patients the best possible radiation therapy.”