Vignesh T. Packiam, MD

I am excited to join the team at Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey and RWJ Barnabas Health. I grew up in Connecticut and majored in Biology and Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I received my medical degree from the University of Pittsburgh and completed a six-year urology residency at the University of Chicago. I then completed a two-year Society of Urologic Oncology accredited fellowship at Mayo Clinic where I also obtained a Postdoctoral Research Certificate at the Center of Clinical and Translational Science. I had a robust clinical practice and research portfolio in urologic oncology and bladder cancer for several years at the University of Iowa, prior to my recruitment to Rutgers. Currently, I am Associate Professor of Surgery at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.

I have expertise in treating genitourinary malignancies including bladder, prostate, kidney, and testicular cancer, and am experienced in both complex open and robotic surgery. Outcomes for urologic cancers are optimized by skill and experience, and I am grateful to my world-class mentors throughout my training to allow me to bring this to my patients. I am passionate about educating my patients about all treatment options available to them to allow them to make the best personalized treatment decisions.

I have a strong interest in bladder cancer. This disease can be aggressive and significantly impact quality of life - it brings me satisfaction be able to help patients with this problem. I strongly support and participate in patient centered groups such as the Bladder Cancer Advocacy Network and have always prioritized a patient-centric treatment approach. I believe the best way to bring new effective treatments for patients is through innovations by their treating physicians. I have dedicated a large amount of research focus to the development and implementation of effective novel treatments for bladder cancer. I have received research funding from the American Cancer Society to improve the safety and effectiveness of treatments for patients with non-muscle invasive bladder cancer.  

I am an active member of numerous cancer societies and am recognized as a top reviewer for multiple urology journals. I have co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters.