Heather G. Lyu, M.D., MBI
Department of Surgical Oncology, Division of Surgery
About Dr. Heather G. Lyu
Heather Lyu, M.D., M.B.I. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgical Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She is also the Director of the Department of Surgical Oncology Clinical Research Informatics Program. Her clinical practice focuses on the multidisciplinary care of patients with soft-tissue sarcomas. She received her medical degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and completed her surgical training at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, MA. She completed a fellowship in Complex General Surgical Oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. She also completed training in Clinical Informatics at the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and obtained her master’s degree in Biomedical Informatics at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Lyu’s research focuses on the extraction of more nuanced and robust clinical data from electronic health records (EHRs) to enable a deeper understanding of patient conditions, treatment outcomes, and disease trends.
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Present Title & Affiliation
Primary Appointment
Assistant Professor, Department of Surgical Oncology, Division of Surgery, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Internal Advisory Council Member, Institute for Date Science in Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX
Education & Training
Degree-Granting Education
| 2019 | Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA, MBI, Biomedical Informatics |
| 2014 | Johns Hopkins University, School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA, MD, Doctor of Medicine |
| 2009 | University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA, BA, Media Studies |
Postgraduate Training
| 2021-2023 | Clinical Fellowship, Complex and General Surgical Oncology, University of Texas, MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX |
| 2017-2019 | Research Fellowship, Clinical Informatics and Innovations, Partners Healthcare, Boston, MA |
| 2014-2021 | Clinical Residency, General Surgery, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA |
Board Certifications
| 2024 | American Board of Surgery, Complex General Surgical Oncology |
| 2022 | Clinical Informatics |
| 2022 | American Board of Surgery |
Experience & Service
Administrative Appointments/Responsibilities
Director, Clinical Research Informatics Program, Department of Surgical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, 2024 - Present
Honors & Awards
| 2023 | The 15th International Gastric Cancer Congress Travel Grant |
| 2022 | Jesse H. Jones Fellowship in Cancer Education Research Award |
| 2021 | Society of Asian Academic Surgeons Resident Development Scholarship |
| 2021 | Francis Daniels Moore Award, Chief Resident |
| 2020 | Surgery Class of ’63 Scholar, Research Resident |
| 2019 | Harvard Graduate School of Education Innovation and Ventures in Education Pitch Competition 2nd Prize Winner |
| 2018 | Association of Women Surgeons (AWS) Starr Poster Contest Winner, Association of Women Surgeons |
| 2017 | Rudolph Vollman Award, Junior Resident |
| 2016 | New England Surgical Society Poster of Distinction Award |
| 2011 | Medical Student Research Day Winner, Johns Hopkins University |
| 2011 | EASL Young Investigators Award |
| 2007 | UVA Center for Global Health Scholarship Winner |
Professional Memberships
Selected Publications
Peer-Reviewed Articles
- Lu PW, Lyu HG, Prakash LR, Chiang YS, Maxwell JE, Snyder RA, Kim MP, Tzeng CD, Katz MHG, Ikoma N. Effect of surgical approach on early return to intended oncologic therapy after resection for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Surg Endosc. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38987482.
- Traweek RS, Lyu HG, Witt RG, Snyder RA, Nassif EF, Krijgh DD, Smith JM, Tilney GS, Feng C, Chiang YJ, Torres KE, Roubaud MJ, Scally CP, Hunt KK, Keung EZ, Mericli AF, Roland CL. High Community-Level Social Vulnerability is Associated with Worse Recurrence-Free Survival (RFS) After Resection of Extremity and Truncal Soft Tissue Sarcoma. Ann Surg Oncol 31(6):4138-4147, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38396039.
- Lyu HG, Snyder RA, Roland CL. ASO Author Reflections: Is a Patient's Home Address Associated with Survival Outcomes After Surgery for Extremity and Truncal Soft Tissue Sarcoma?. Ann Surg Oncol 31(6):4148-4149, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38504045.
- Elmorsi R, Camacho L, Krijgh DD, Tilney GS, Lyu H, Traweek RS, Witt RG, Roubaud MS, Roland CL, Mericli AF. ASO Visual Abstract: Sarcoma Size and Limb Dimensions Predict Complications, Recurrence, and Death in Patients with Soft Tissue Sarcoma in the Thigh-A Multidimensional Analysis. Ann Surg Oncol. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38719992.
- Hirata Y, Lyu H, Smith GL, Wang XS, Tran Cao HS, Katz MHG, Ikoma N. What Defines the Value of Minimally Invasive Surgery for Cancer Patients? Ann Surg Oncol. Ann Surg Oncol 31(4):2204-2207, 2024. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 38123730.
- Mericli AF, Elmorsi R, Camacho L, Hassan A, Krijgh DD, Tilney G, Lyu H, Traweek RS, Witt RG, Roubaud MS, Roland CL. When to ditch the ladder and take the elevator: The Anderson SArcoma Risk of Complications (A-SARC) score to guide reconstructive decision-making in extremity soft tissue sarcoma patients. J Surg Oncol. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38623064.
- Elmorsi R, Camacho L, Krijgh DD, Tilney GS, Lyu H, Traweek RS, Witt RG, Roubaud MS, Roland CL, Mericli AF. Sarcoma Size and Limb Dimensions Predict Complications, Recurrence, and Death in Patients with Soft Tissue Sarcoma in the Thigh: A Multidimensional Analysis. Ann Surg Oncol. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38520583.
- Hirata Y, To C, Lyu H, Smith GL, Samuel JP, Tran Cao HS, Badgwell BD, Katz MHG, Ikoma N. Prevalence of and Factors Associated with Financial Toxicity After Pancreatectomy and Gastrectomy. Ann Surg Oncol. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38536586.
- Traweek RS, Lyu H, Witt RG, Snyder RA, Nassif EF, Krijgh DD, Smith JM, Tilney GS, Feng C, Chiang YJ, Torres KE, Roubaud MJ, Scally CP, Hunt KK, Keung EZ, Mericli AF, Roland CL. ASO Visual Abstract: High Community-Level Social Vulnerability is Associated with Worse Recurrence-Free Survival Following Resection of Extremity and Truncal Soft-Tissue Sarcoma. Ann Surg Oncol. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38546800.
- Hirata Y, Lyu HG, Azimuddin AM, Lu P, Ajith J, Schmeisser JA, Ninan EP, Lee KH, Badgwell BD, Mansfield P, Ikoma N. Cost Analysis for Robotic and Open Gastrectomy. Ann Surg Open 5(1):e396, 2024. e-Pub 2024. PMID: 38883961.
- Krijgh DD, Smith JM, Tilney G, Lyu H, Traweek RS, Witt RG, Roubaud MJ, Correa AM, Roland CL, Mericli AF. Identifying risk factors and analyzing reconstructive outcomes in patients with lower-extremity soft-tissue sarcoma. J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg 89:174-185, 2024. e-Pub 2023. PMID: 38199219.
- Lyu HG, Lu P, Mahvi DA, Kuo LEY, Wong SL, Raut CP, Cho NL. Gender Disparities in Presentations at the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) Meetings From 2014 to 2019. Ann Surg Oncol 29(13):8107-8114, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35821294.
- Mahvi DA, Witt RG, Lyu HG, Gawande AA, Nehs MA, Doherty GM, Cho NL. Increased Body Mass Index is Associated With Lower Risk of Hypocalcemia in Total Thyroidectomy Patients. J Surg Res 279:240-246, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 35797751.
- Lyu HG, Kantor O, Laws AD, McDonald J, Pham L, Dominici LS, Vincuilla J, Raut CP, Danilchuk B, Novak L, Parker T, King TA, Mittendorf EA. Development of an Electronic Health Record Registry to Facilitate Collection of Commission on Cancer Metrics for Patients Undergoing Surgery for Breast Cancer. JCO Clin Cancer Inform 6:e2200012, 2022. PMID: 36215674.
- Fairweather M, Lyu H, Conti L, Callegaro D, Radaelli S, Fiore M, Ng D, Swallow C, Gronchi A, Raut CP. Postnephrectomy outcomes following en bloc resection of primary retroperitoneal sarcoma: multicentre study. Br J Surg 109(2):165-168, 2022. PMID: 34718436.
- Lyu HG, Smink DS, Doherty GM, Melnitchouk N, Cho NL. When not winning means losing: Underrepresentation of women surgeons in recognition awards at a single institution. Am J Surg 222(1):45-46, 2021. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 33384150.
- Lu PW, Shabat G, Semeniv S, Fedorkiv M, Fields AC, Lyu HG, Beznosenko A, Davids JS, Melnitchouk N. The Current Landscape of Staging and Treatment of Colorectal Cancer in a Region of Ukraine: a Mixed Methods Study. World J Surg 45(1):313-319, 2021. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32978664.
- Lyu HG, Saadat LV, Bertagnolli MM, Wang J, Baldini EH, Stopfkuchen-Evans M, Bleday R, Raut CP. Enhanced recovery after surgery pathway in patients with soft tissue sarcoma. Br J Surg 107(12):1667-1672, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32618371.
- Lyu HG, Raut CP. Enhanced recovery after surgery pathway in patients with soft tissue sarcoma. Br J Surg 107(11):e568, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32866282.
- Kuo LE, Lyu HG, Jarman MP, Melnitchouk N, Doherty GM, Smink DS, Cho NL. Gender Disparity in Awards in General Surgery Residency Programs. JAMA Surg 156(1):60-6. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32876660.
- Lyu H, Manca C, McGrath C, Beloff J, Plaks N, Postilnik A, Borchers A, Diaz N, McGovern S, Havens J, Kachalia A, Landman A. Development of a Web-Based Nonoperative Small Bowel Obstruction Treatment Pathway App. Appl Clin Inform 11(4):535-543, 2020. e-Pub 2020. PMID: 32814352.
- Lyu HG, Castillo-Angeles M, Bruno M, Cooper Z, Nehra D, Nitzschke SL, Askari R, Kelly E, Shimizu N, Riviello R, Salim A, Havens JM. Outcomes of a low-osmolar water-soluble contrast pathway in small bowel obstruction. J Trauma Acute Care Surg 87(3):630-635, 2019. PMID: 31205220.
- Lyu HG, Davids JS, Scully RE, Melnitchouk N. Association of Domestic Responsibilities With Career Satisfaction for Physician Mothers in Procedural vs Nonprocedural Fields. JAMA Surg 154(8):689-695, 2019. PMID: 30969336.
- Davids JS, Lyu HG, Hoang CM, Daniel VT, Scully RE, Xu TY, Phatak UR, Damle A, Melnitchouk N. Female Representation and Implicit Gender Bias at the 2017 American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons' Annual Scientific and Tripartite Meeting. Dis Colon Rectum 62(3):357-362, 2019. PMID: 30451743.
- Saadat LV, Fields AC, Lyu H, Urman RD, Whang EE, Goldberg J, Bleday R, Melnitchouk N. National Surgical Quality Improvement Program analysis of unplanned reoperation in patients undergoing low anterior resection or abdominoperineal resection for rectal cancer. Surgery 165(3):602-607, 2019. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 30309616.
- Lyu HG, Faoro N, McDonald M, Jarman M, Kreitzman K, Salim A, Landman AB. Evaluation of RFID Technology to Capture Surgeon Arrival Time to Meet American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma Verification Guidelines. ACI Open, 2019. e-Pub 2019.
- Rangel EL, Lyu H, Haider AH, Castillo-Angeles M, Doherty GM, Smink DS. Factors Associated With Residency and Career Dissatisfaction in Childbearing Surgical Residents. JAMA Surg 153(11):1004-1011, 2018. PMID: 30073246.
- Melnitchouk N, Shabat G, Lu P, Lyu H, Scully R, Leung K, Jarman M, Lukashenko A, Kolesnik OO, Goldberg J, Davids JS, Bleday R. Colorectal Cancer in Ukraine: Regional Disparities and National Trends in Incidence, Management, and Mortality. J Glob Oncol 4:1-8, 2018. PMID: 30354936.
- Lyu HG, Stein LA, Saadat LV, Phicil SN, Haider A, Raut CP, Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center Sarcoma Surgery Group. Assessment of the Accuracy of Disease Coding Among Patients Diagnosed With Sarcoma. JAMA Oncol 4(9):1293-1295, 2018. PMID: 30098150.
- Lyu HG, Sharma G, Brovman EY, Ejiofor J, Urman RD, Gold JS, Whang EE. Unplanned reoperation after hepatectomy: an analysis of risk factors and outcomes. HPB (Oxford) 20(7):591-596, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29331277.
- Silva MA, See AP, Shah SK, Khandelwal P, Patel NJ, Lyu H, Menard MT, Aziz-Sultan MA. Endovascular Renal Artery Stent Retriever Embolectomy in a Young Patient With Cardiac Myxoma: Case Report and Review of the Literature. Vasc Endovascular Surg 52(1):70-74, 2018. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 29162028.
- Lyu HG, Cooper MA, Mayer-Blackwell B, Jiam N, Hechenbleikner EM, Wick EC, Berenholtz SM, Makary MA. Medical Harm: Patient Perceptions and Follow-up Actions. J Patient Saf 13(4):199-201, 2017. PMID: 25397856.
- Lyu HG, Sharma G, Brovman E, Ejiofor J, Repaka A, Urman RD, Gold JS, Whang EE. Risk Factors of Reoperation After Pancreatic Resection. Dig Dis Sci 62(6):1666-1675, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28341868.
- Lyu H, Xu T, Brotman D, Mayer-Blackwell B, Cooper M, Daniel M, Wick EC, Saini V, Brownlee S, Makary MA. Overtreatment in the United States. PLoS One 12(9):e0181970, 2017. e-Pub 2017. PMID: 28877170.
- Lee D, Lyu H, Chung YH, Kim JA, Mathews P, Jaffee E, Zheng L, Yu E, Lee YJ, Ryu SH. Genomic change in hepatitis B virus associated with development of hepatocellular carcinoma. World J Gastroenterol 22(23):5393-9, 2016. PMID: 27340355.
- Lyu H, Cooper M, Patel K, Daniel M, Makary MA. Prevalence and Data Transparency of National Clinical Registries in the United States. J Healthc Qual 38(4):223-34, 2016. PMID: 26042745.
- Beaulieu RJ, Grimm JC, Lyu H, Abularrage CJ, Perler BA. Rates and predictors of readmission after minor lower extremity amputations. J Vasc Surg 62(1):101-5, 2015. e-Pub 2015. PMID: 25827965.
- Cooper MA, Ibrahim A, Lyu H, Makary MA. Underreporting of robotic surgery complications. J Healthc Qual 37(2):133-8, 2015. PMID: 23980819.
- Cooper MA, Hutfless S, Segev DL, Ibrahim A, Lyu H, Makary MA. Hospital level under-utilization of minimally invasive surgery in the United States: retrospective review. BMJ 349:g4198, 2014. e-Pub 2014. PMID: 25005264.
- Jiam NT, Cooper MA, Lyu HG, Hirose K, Makary MA. Surgical malpractice claims in the United States. J Healthc Risk Manag 33(4):29-34, 2014. PMID: 24756827.
- Lyu H, Wick EC, Housman M, Freischlag JA, Makary MA. Patient satisfaction as a possible indicator of quality surgical care. JAMA Surg 148(4):362-7, 2013. PMID: 23715968.
- Mathews P, Lee D, Chung YH, Kim JA, Lee JH, Jin YJ, Park W, Lyu H, Jaffee E, Zheng L, Yu E, Lee YJ. Effects of genomic changes in hepatitis B virus on postoperative recurrence and survival in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma. Ann Surg Oncol 20(4):1216-22, 2013. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 23104706.
- Lyu H, Lee D, Chung YH, Kim JA, Lee JH, Jin YJ, Park W, Mathews P, Jaffee E, Zheng L, Yu E, Lee YJ. Synergistic effects of A1896, T1653 and T1762/A1764 mutations in genotype c2 hepatitis B virus on development of hepatocellular carcinoma. J Viral Hepat 20(3):219-24, 2013. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 23383661.
- Guzzetta AA, Montgomery EA, Lyu H, Hooker CM, Meyer CF, Loeb DM, Frassica D, Weber KL, Ahuja N. Epithelioid sarcoma: one institution's experience with a rare sarcoma. J Surg Res 177(1):116-22, 2012. e-Pub 2012. PMID: 22575361.
Invited Articles
- Witt RG, Lyu HG, Keung EZ. The Past, Present, and Future: The Evolving Role and Challenges of Surgery in the Multimodal Management of Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors. Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor, 2023. e-Pub 2023.
- Lyu HG, Raut CP. What enhanced recovery means for patients with cancer undergoing surgery. Cancer 128(23):4058-4060, 2022. e-Pub 2022. PMID: 36219468.
- Lyu HG, Haider AH, Landman AB, Raut CP. The opportunities and shortcomings of using big data and national databases for sarcoma research. Cancer 125(17):2926-2934, 2019. e-Pub 2019. PMID: 31090929.
- Lyu HG, Najjar P, Havens JM. Past, present, and future of Emergency General Surgery in the USA. Acute Med Surg 5(2):119-122, 2018. e-Pub 2018. PMID: 29657721.
Other Articles
- Lyu H, Cooper M, Freischlag JA, Makary MA Patient satisfaction as a possible indicator of quality surgical care--reply. JAMA Surg 148(10):986-7, 2013. PMID: 24132398.
Editorials
- Lyu HG, Gordon WJ, Huey RW, Katz MHG. Leveraging the 21st Century Cures Act to Improve Cancer Care, Patient Engagement, and Data Collection. JCO Oncol Pract 18(12):788-790, 2022. PMID: 36219810.
- Gordon WJ, Ikoma N, Lyu HG, Purcell Jackson G, Landman AB. Protecting the Operating Room – Cybersecurity Considerations for Robotic Surgery. NPJ Digit Med 5(1):148, 2022.
- Gordon WJ, Ikoma N, Lyu HG, Purcell Jackson G, Landman AB. Protecting the Operating Room – Cybersecurity Considerations for Robotic Surgery. NPJ Digit Med 5(1):148, 2022.
- Lyu HG, Doherty GM, Landman AB. Surgical Informatics: Defining the Role of Informatics in the Current Surgical Training Paradigm. J Surg Educ 77(1):9-12, 2020. PMID: 31477548.
Abstracts
- Hirata Y, To C, Lyu H, Smith GL, Samuel JP, Cao HST, Badgwell BD, Katz MHG, Ikoma N. ASO Visual Abstract: Prevalence of and Factors Associated with Financial Toxicity After Pancreatectomy and Gastrectomy. Ann Surg Oncol 31(7):4396, 2024. PMID: 38735902.
- Lyu HG, Lu P, Mahvi DA, Kuo LEY, Wong SL, Raut CP, Cho NL. ASO Visual Abstract: Gender Disparities in Presentations at the Society of Surgical Oncology (SSO) Meetings from 2014 to 2019. Ann Surg Oncol 29(13):8115-8116, 2022. PMID: 35902496.
Book Chapters
- Lyu H, Roland C. Resection of Desmoid Tumors and Other Fibromatosis. In: Difficult Decisions in Surgical Oncology, 2022.
- Lyu H, Smink D. Stomach & Duodenum. In: Doherty G, eds. Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Surgery, 15th edition. McGraw-Hill: New York, NY, 2020.
- Lyu H, Clancy T. Pancreas. In: Doherty G, eds. Current Diagnosis & Treatment: Surgery, 15th edition. McGraw-Hill: New York, NY, 2020.
- Lyu H, Irani J. Colectomy – Total and Subtotal. In: The SCORE Portal, 2018.
- Hardacre J, Lyu H. Appendix. In: Makary M, eds. Surgery Review. 3rd edition. Ladner-Drysdale: Arlington, VA, 2013.
Patient Reviews
CV information above last modified August 21, 2024