Meet Craig Kovitz, M.D.
Craig A. Kovitz, M.D.
Department of General Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine
About Dr. Kovitz
Dr. Kovitz is a general medical oncologist and hematologist with a broad practice that encompasses the treatment of solid organ cancers as well as benign and malignant blood disorders. Dr. Kovitz graduated from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in... 1997 and subsequently went on to do residency training in Internal Medicine at Wilford Hall United States Air Force Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. After services as an attending internist and the Associate Director of the Internal Medicine training program at Keelser United States Air Force Medical Center in Biloxi, MS, he moved to Houston to complete his fellowship training in medical oncology and hematology at MD Anderson Cancer Center. After completing this training, he helped launch and grow the MD Anderson Regional Care Center in the Bay Area, one of four multidisciplinary care centers serving MD Anderson patients around Houston. He now proudly serves the North Houston community as a faculty member in the Woodlands. Dr. Kovitz is committed to delivering outstanding, compassionate, research-driven multidisciplinary care to every patient he encounters. He is a fellow of the American College of Physicians and is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
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Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Professor, Department of General Oncology, Division of Cancer Medicine, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Professor, Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology (Joint Appointment), The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Dual/Joint/Adjunct Appointment
Professor, Department of General Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Professor, Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 1997 | Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, New York, US, MD |
| 1993 | Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, US, Biological Sciences, BS |
Postgraduate Training
| 2004-2007 | Fellowship, Medical Oncology Hematology, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas |
| 1998-2000 | Clinical Residency, Internal Medicine, Wilford Hall Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas |
| 1997-1998 | Clinical Internship, Internal Medicine, Wilford Hall Medical Center, San Antonio, Texas |
Board Certifications
| 2007 | Hematology; American Board of Internal Medicine |
| 2007 | Medical Oncology; American Board of Internal Medicine |
| 2000 | Internal Medicine; American Board of Internal Medicine |
Experience & Service
Academic Appointments
Associate Professor, Department of Genitourinary Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2020 - 2022
Associate Professor, Department of General Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2016 - 2022
Associate Medical Director/Medical Oncology, Department of General Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2010 - 2012
Assistant Professor, Department of General Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2007 - 2013
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Section Chief, Department of Medical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2020 - Present
Quality Officer, Department of General Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas, 2018 - Present
Chief Fellow, Department of General Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2006 - 2007
Teaching Fellow, Department of General Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2005 - 2006
Associate Program Director, Department of Internal Medicine Program, Keesler Medical Center, Keesler AFB, MS, 2001 - 2004
Attending Internist, Department of Internal Medicine, Keesler Medical Center, Keesler AFB, MS, 2000 - 2004
Other Appointments/Responsibilities
Medical Oncologist/Hematologist, Millennium Oncology, The Woodlands, TX, 2014 - 2016
Institutional Committee Activities
Member, PRS Faculty Compensation Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2023 - Present
Member, Medical Use Safety Team, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2021 - Present
Member, ATC Efficiency Committee, MD Anderson Cancer Center in The Woodlands, 2019 - Present
Member, Houston Area Location (HAL) Quality and Safety Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2019 - Present
Chair, Education Subcommittee, Cancer Committee, Christus St. John Hospital; Nassau Bay, TX, 2012 - 2013
Member, Physician Relations Faculty Advisory Board, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2011 - 2013
Cancer Liaison Physician to American College of Surgeons, Christus St. John Hospital; Nassau Bay, TX, 2011 - 2013
Secretary, Medical Executive Committee, Christus St. John Hospital; Nassau Bay, TX, 2010 - 2011
Member, ATC Efficiency Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2010 - Present
Member, Fellow Steering Committee, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, 2009 - 2012
Honors & Awards
| 2024 | MDACC Patient Experience Award: Top 10% Provider, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2022 | MDACC Patient Experience Award: Top 1% Provider, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2006 | Chief Fellow, Medical Oncology/Hematology, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2006 | Jesse H. Jones Fellowship in Cancer, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2005 | Clifton D. Howe Award for Clinical Excellence, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2005 | Waun Ki Hong/Sanofi-Aventis Award for Excellence in Thoracic Oncology, MD Anderson Cancer Center |
| 2004 | General Archie Hoffman Award for Excellence in Academic Medicine, Society of Air Force Physician |
| 2004 | Meritorious Service Medal, United States Air Force |
| 2003 | Air Force Commendation Medal, United States Air Force |
| 2000 - 2003 | Staff Teacher of the Year; Department of Internal Medicine, Keesler Medical Center; Keesler AFB, MS |
| 1999 - 2000 | Best Teaching Resident; Wilford Hall Medical Center, Lackland AFB, TX |
| 1998 | James J. Leonard Award for Excellence in Teaching Internal Medicine, Willford Hall Medical Center/Uniformed University of the Health Sciences |
| 1997 | Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society, Lambda Chapter, Mount Sinai School of Medicine |
| 1997 | James Felt Memorial Award for Highest Overall Performance During the Four Year Medical Curriculum, Mount Sinai School of Medicine |
Professional Memberships
American Society of Clinical Oncology
2005 - Present
American College of Physicians
2004 - Present
Board of Governors, Society of Air Force Physicians
2003 - 2004
Society of Air Force Physicians
1998 - 2004
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Alhalabi, O, Wilson, NR, Xiao, L, Lin, Y, Khandelwal, J, Moussa, MJ, Msaouel, P, Navai, N, Gao, J, Kamat, A, Pilie, PG, Shah, AY, Goswami, S, Matin, S, Kovitz, CA, Holla, V, Guo, C, Czerniak, BA, Logothetis, CJ, Corn, P, Dinney, CP, Campbell, M, Hansel, DE, Tannir, NM, Siefker-Radtke, AO. Comparative Effectiveness Analysis of Treatment Strategies for Surgically Resectable Neuroendocrine Carcinoma of the Urinary Tract. European Urology Oncology 6(6):611-620, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37833193.
- Tang C, Sherry AD, Haymaker C, Bathala T, Liu S, Fellman B, Cohen L, Aparicio A, Zurita AJ, Reuben A, Marmonti E, Chun SG, Reddy JP, Ghia A, McGuire S, Efstathiou E, Wang J, Wang J, Pilie P, Kovitz C, Du W, Simiele SJ, Kumar R, Borghero Y, Shi Z, Chapin B, Gomez D, Wistuba I, Corn PG. Addition of Metastasis-Directed Therapy to Intermittent Hormone Therapy for Oligometastatic Prostate Cancer: The EXTEND Phase 2 Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Oncol 9(6):825-834, 2023. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 37022702.
- Dao EA, George SJ, Heberton MM, Pacha O, Kovitz CA, Patel AB, Phillips RM. Erratum to "Periorbital Edema Associated with Alpelisib" [Cancer Treatment and Research Communications 32 (2022) 100596]. Cancer Treat Res Commun:100654. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36463021.
- Dao EA, George SJ, Heberton MM, Pacha O, Kovitz CA, Patel AB, Phillips RM. Periorbital Edema Associated with Alpelisib. Cancer Treat Res Commun 32:100596, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35834907.
- Kovitz CA, Bickford D, Ornstein D, Ririe D, Shaughnessy P, Fischer J. Allogeneic Bone Marrow Transplantation at Wilford Hall U.S. Air Force Medical Center: 1987-1999. Mil Med 166(12):1049-53, 2001. e-Pub 2001. PMID: 11778401.
- Kovitz CA, Morgello S. Cerebral Glucose Transporter Expression in HIV Infection. Acta Neuropathol 94(2):140-5, 1997. e-Pub 1997. PMID: 9255388.
Other Articles
- Jain T, Bar M, Kansagra AJ, Chong EA, Hashmi SK, Neelapu SS, Byrne M, Jacoby E, Lazaryan A, Jacobson CA, Ansell SM, Awan FT, Burns L, Bachanova V, Bollard CM, Carpenter PA, DiPersio JF, Hamadani M, Heslop HE, Hill JA, Komanduri KV, Kovitz CA, Lazarus HM, Serrette JM, Mohty M, Miklos D, Nagler A, Pavletic SZ, Savani BN, Schuster SJ, Kharfan-Dabaja MA, Perales MA, Lin Y Use of Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cell Therapy in Clinical Practice for Relapsed/Refractory Aggressive B Cell Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma: An Expert Panel Opinion from the American Society for Transplantation and Cellular Therapy. Biol Blood Marrow Transplant 25(12):2305-2321, 2019. PMID: 31446199.
- Hughes CL, Yorio JT, Kovitz C, Oki Y Treatment Decisions in a Man with Hodgkin Lymphoma and Guillian-Barré Syndrome: A case report. J Med Case Rep 8:455, 2014. PMID: 25528252.
- Harting M, Tarrant W, Kovitz CA, Rosen T, Harting MT, Souchon E Massive Nodular Melanoma: A case report. Dermatol Online J 13(2):7, 2007. PMID: 17498426.
- Kovitz C, Kantarjian H, Garcia-Manero G, Abruzzo LV, Cortes J Secondary Myelodysplastic Syndromes and Acute Leukemia Developing after Imatinib Mesylate Therapy for Chronic Myeloid Leukemia. Blood 108(8):2811-3, 2006. PMID: 16809614.
Abstracts
- Tang C, Bathala T, Liu S, Fellman B, Aparicio A, Zurita-Saavedra A, Chun S, Reddy J, Le V, Choi S, Efstathiou E, Wang J, Tu S, Pilie P, Kovitz C, Kumar R, Chapin B, Gomez D, Corn G. Primary analysis of the prostate intermittent hormone basket from EXTEND (External beam radiation to Eliminate Nominal metastatic Disease). A randomized phase II basket trial assessing the efficacy of upfront local consolidative therapy for oligometastatic disease. American Society for Radiation Oncology, 2022. e-Pub 2022.
- Strassburg AD, Kovitz CA. Upper extremity deep venous thromboses at Keesler Medical Center: 1997-2000. J Miss State Med Assoc 43(4):114, 2002. e-Pub 2002. PMID: 11989197.
- Englund K, Kovtiz CA, Turner J. A case of Richter's transformation in chronic lymphcytic leukemia presenting as hypercalcemia and a mediastinal mass. Society of Air Force Physicians Annual Meeting Bulletin, 2002. e-Pub 2002.
- Strassburg A, Kovtiz CA. A critical analysis of laboratory evaluations for hereditary thrombophilia at Keesler Medical Center. Society of Air Force Physicians Annual Meeting Bulletin, 2002. e-Pub 2002.
- Baldwin S, Kovtiz CA. A critical analysis of the use of COX-2 inhibitors at Keesler Medical Center. Society of Air Force Physicians Annual Meeting Bulletin, 2002. e-Pub 2002.
Book Chapters
- Kovitz C, Spiess PE, Tannir NM. Testicular Cancer. In: Encyclopedia of Cancer. 2nd. Springer-Verlag, 3656-3660, 2008.
- Kovitz CA, Millikan R, Logothetis C. Testicular Cancer. In: The M.D. Anderson Manual of Medical Oncology. 6th. McGraw-Hill, Medical Pub, 2006.
Patient Reviews
5/5
Listened Carefully to You
4.9/5
Explanations Easy to Understand
4.9/5
Knew Your Medical History
4.9/5
Gave Easy to Understand Instructions
4.9/5
Spent Enough Time With You
4.9/5
Showed Respect for You
4.9/5
Would Recommend Provider’s Office
4.9/5
Provider Rating 0 - 10
Comments (128)
He made us feel more at ease about my situation
I would like to address a concern with the transportation between the hospital room, and the treatment area such as x-ray, et cetera, et cetera. The, oh, I'm sorry.
I was very impressed with the team and coordination between team members.
Punctual. Gave me options. Easy for me to select. Good doc.
Love my care team they put the patient first and I really feel they care about me as well as my health
He was very educational and he answered all my concerns and he cared about me. I am so amazed that he actually cared about me and listened to me and that is for cancer patients they just need somebody to care. Thank you.
Excellent,very knowledgeable
Excellent
I find Dr Kovitz to be an excellent provider, very thorough in his explanations & personnel at the same time.
Dr. Kovitz is an incredible Dr and human being. I used to travel from [City] to see him and now travel from California to see him. He care and approach to my care are the reasons I travel to see him. He is thorough and truly cares about me and my well being. I am extremely...
very professional, courteous & all answers were in lay mans terms. described various ways to treat symptoms.
Ever since I've been going to MD Anderson, I think its staff is absolutely great. And I appreciate you all. God bless you all.
My wife and I think very highly of the appt and organization
Outstanding care.
Regular scheduled check up that was thorough and complete. Appreciated the visit.
Incredibly smart, right on point, and very honest keeping the patients needs first. One of the best doctors I have ever seen.
Great experience
Dr. Kovitz is a very good doctor and he has explained everything thoroughly to us in the past and I'm sure he will in the future.
My experience in the office with the provider was very positive. She was very helpful. And after that, I've emailed her twice and she has responded immediately. So I cannot recommend her highly enough and I was very, very pleased with her responsiveness and help.
Everyone from the folks at check-in to the phlebotomist to the nurses and doctors were awesome. Every time I go to MDA in the Woodlands I am treated wonderfully. Thanks.
Excellent service by Dr K
I appreciate Dr Kovitz being honest and upfront about my care. He also takes the time to listen and am never rushed. He's truly amazing. Michelle is AWESOME we have a great time which really sets your mind at ease when you first get there... Especially since you never...
My care provider treated me as though I was the most important patient!!
My team of care providers was excellent, they were concerned about me and my health issues. Looking forward to continuing my cancer treatment with MD Anderson.
Dr Kovitz knows what he is doing and is always courteous and friendly
Great
Excellent Doctor, I trust Dr. Kovitz with my life.
I appreciated MD Anderson and I feel like they're going to take care of me.
Good visit
First visit. Very happy with the doctor and all staff
This team is amazing. Dr Kovitz is the best doctor I have ever seen and Angela and his team are so wonderful.
Excellent. Dr. Kovitz makes me feel confident and safe with his recommendations.
I've known Dr. C.Kovitz for almost 4 years. He's an excellent professional, very knowledgeable and highly educated with impeccable manners. I like him very much, as well as his staff. All of them are "Excellent humans being" I feel very lucky to be able to be treated at MD...
Dr. Kovitz is the best
Dr. Kovitz is an excellent doctor. He is a highly knowledgeable and respectful doctor who thoroughly addresses my questions and reviews lab results with me. I feel very comfortable with him as my physician. He team is also wonderful and attentive.
Great experience from the first time we arrived at MD Anderson. Dr. Kovitz AND his staff are amazing.
Very good and on-time for every different experience.
Dr. Kovitz and his team are excellent and they provide very professional and supportive care and they're very knowledgeable. Dr. Kovitz is wonderful.
Is knowable regarding my issues.
High quality visit
This provider was excellent in his explanation and his staff was good too. Thank you.
Everyone at M D Anderson was kind, attentive , and most helpful. From the ladies cleaning my room to all nurses, people taking me to different places like radiology, surgery, to the all the people start to finish. It was was a one of kind amazing.
Outstanding In every respect of my care and assistance with logistics of travel from home in Dallas to MDA facilities.
Very Good
Made to feel very comfortable...
Absolutely super; kind and helpful
Student doctor very knowledgeable and explained everything very well.
The people I have seen, this provider and everyone have been amazing. I wish there was something larger than a 10. Everything is perfect. Everyone we have met from helping us down the hallway to downtown to the Woodlands area. We could not be happier. Thank you.
Plus plus service as always
Very professional and definitely very good
CV information above last modified April 10, 2025
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