MIAMI – AUGUST 13, 2019 – Hematologist-oncologist and clinical researcher Marco Ruiz, M.D., MPH, FACP, FIDSA, has joined the Division of Hematologic Oncology and Stem Cell Transplantation at Miami Cancer Institute, part of Baptist Health South Florida and the state’s only member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Alliance. He will see patients with lymphoproliferative diseases requiring stem transplantation as part of their curative intent therapy. Because of his unique background, he has also been named Chief of HIV Oncology and HIV Stem Cell Transplantation.

Dr. Ruiz has extensive experience in the treatment of hematologic cancers in the setting of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and will develop the HIV oncology program at Miami Cancer Institute. Initially, the program will focus on hematologic malignancies and bone marrow transplantation for HIV patients. Ultimately, however, it will expand to include the treatment of all cancers in the HIV-infected population. Dr. Ruiz is board certified in five specialties: medical oncology, internal medicine, geriatric medicine, hospice & palliative medicine and infectious diseases.  

“Dr. Ruiz is an exceptional addition to our multidisciplinary team of experts at Miami Cancer Institute,” said Michael J. Zinner, M.D., founding CEO and executive medical director of Miami Cancer Institute. “He is an innovative bone marrow transplant specialist and clinical researcher who achieves outstanding patient outcomes and offers hope to patients battling cancer and HIV.”

Dr. Ruiz earned his medical degree at the University of San Marcos School of Medicine in Lima, Peru. He also earned a Master of Public Health from the Nuffield Center for International Health & Development, University of Leeds in Sheffield, United Kingdom. His training also included an internship and residency in internal medicine at San Juan City Hospital in Puerto Rico. He completed fellowship trainings in hematology/oncology at Louisiana State University in New Orleans, La. And in bone marrow transplantation at Ochsner Medical Center, also in New Orleans. Prior to joining Miami Cancer Institute, Dr. Ruiz was an associate member of the Malignant Hematology and Cellular Therapy/Bone Marrow Transplantation Program at Moffitt Cancer Center in Pembroke Pines.

He currently serves as associate professor of clinical medicine at Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, Florida International University. Further, Dr. Ruiz is an editorial board member for numerous scientific publications, is widely published in peer-review medical journals, and delivers invited lectures at national and international scientific symposiums. He is an active member of several professional organizations. For the American College of Physicians, he serves as a Capstone reviewer for the Physician Leadership Academy and a member of the Doctor’s Dilemma Question Development Task Force, a group that develops challenging questions for the internal medicine residency program’s national contest. He also serves on the American Board of Internal Medicine’s Medical Oncology Item-Writing Task Force, which develops comprehensive evaluations for initial certification and recertification of medical oncologists in the U.S.

About Miami Cancer Institute

Miami Cancer Institute is Florida’s only next-generation cancer treatment destination, known for its personalized clinical care and research, compassionate patient experience and state-of-the-art technology – including the first proton therapy center in South Florida, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the only radiation oncology program in the world with each of the latest radiation therapies in one place. The Institute offers an impressive roster of established community oncologists and renowned cancer-fighting experts, clinical researchers and genomic scientists recruited from the nation’s top cancer centers. As Florida’s only member of the Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Alliance, Miami Cancer Institute is part of a deep and functional collaboration that affords patients access to innovative treatments right here at home and ensures that the standards of care developed by our multidisciplinary disease management teams match those at MSK.

Miami Cancer Institute is part of Baptist Health South Florida, the largest healthcare organization in the region, with 11 hospitals, nearly 23,000 employees, more than 4,000 physicians and more than 100 outpatient centers, urgent care facilities and physician practices spanning across Miami-Dade, Monroe, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Baptist Health has internationally renowned centers of excellence in cancer, cardiovascular care, orthopedics and sports medicine, and neurosciences. In addition, it includes Baptist Health Medical Group; Baptist Health Quality Network; and Baptist Health Care On Demand, a virtual health platform. A not-for-profit organization supported by philanthropy and committed to our faith-based charitable mission of medical excellence, Baptist Health has been recognized by Fortune as one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For in America and by Ethisphere as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies. For more information, visit BaptistHealth.net/Newsroom and connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.