Research
Our federally-funded Sexual Toxicity After Radiotherapy (STAR) program’s mission is to transform our understanding of the impacts of radiotherapy on sexual function, including arousal and orgasm, in female cancer patients across the lifespan, with a special focus on the menopausal transition.
Learn more about the importance of clitoris science and our mission here.
We apply radiobiologic, advanced imaging, and multi-omic methods in human research to prevent and mitigate the effects of radiotherapy on sexual function and improve quality of life after cancer treatment.
We also seek to understand how transparency can change medicine.
Deborah C Marshall, MD
she/her/hers
PI
Radiation Oncology
Population Health Science and Policy
Blavatnik Family Women’s Health Research Institute
deborah.marshall@mountsinai.org
Our current research to develop novel approaches to improve sexual outcomes for female and sexual/gender minority cancer patients:
Vaginal hydrogels to prevent scarring
Non-opioid mucosal analgesics
Multi-scale informatics
Standardization of anatomic contours
Female and LGBTQ+ sexual health survivorship care
Advanced pelvic imaging
Erectile-tissue sparing radiotherapy techniques
Measuring and maintaining sensation of the bulboclitoris, nipple and prostate
Our research has four major goals:
#1 To transform the paradigm of sexual health in female and LGBTQ+ persons with cancer after radiotherapy
#2 To elucidate mechanisms of sex differences and the role of immunodeficiency and HIV in oncologic outcomes
#3 To refine the role of proton therapy to improve oncologic outcomes and preserve quality of life
#4 To examine the impact of transparency on the practice of medicine
Publications
Female erectile tissues and sexual dysfunction after pelvic radiotherapy: A scoping review
March 2022 in the journal CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians
Marshall DC, Tarras ES, Ali A, Bloom J, Torres MA, Kahn JM. Female erectile tissues and sexual dysfunction after pelvic radiotherapy: A scoping review. CA Cancer J Clin. 2022 Mar 17. doi: 10.3322/caac.21726. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 35298025.
A first radiotherapy application of functional bulboclitoris anatomy, a novel female sexual organ-at-risk, and organ-sparing feasibility study
August 2021 in the journal British Journal of Radiology
Marshall DC, Ghiassi-Nejad Z, Powers A, Reidenberg JS, Argiriadi P, Ru M, et al. A first radiotherapy application of functional bulboclitoris anatomy, a novel female sexual organ-at-risk, and organ-sparing feasibility study. Br J Radiol 2021; 94: 20201139.
Team

Deborah Marshall, MD MAS
PI

Lauren Carney, PhD
Assistant Scientist

Julia Brody-Barre
Clinical Research Coordinator

Natasha Gironimi
Program Manager

Daniel Dickstein, MD
Resident Researcher

Margo Downes
Medical Student Researcher

Lucy Greenwald
Medical Student Researcher

Nicole Munoz
Researcher Trainee

Andre Williams, MS
Anatomist

Trisha Majumdar
Researcher Trainee

Jared Sealy
Programmer/Analyst – Web Systems

Melissa Castillo
Medical Student Researcher

Siya Gupta
Researcher Trainee

Amarachi Okorom
Medical Student Researcher
Join our team!
We are always seeking exceptional humans (students, trainees, fellows) to join our team.
Email the PI to get in touch.
Deborah C Marshall, MD
Lab:
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Icahn Building, L2-70G
Clinic:
New York Proton Center
225 E 126th Street
New York, NY 10035
Phone: 212-241-7500