Samantha Ruff, MD
Gastrointestinal Surgical Oncology
Additional Locations
Bio & Overview
Samantha Ruff, MD, is a cancer surgeon. She specializes in treating gastrointestinal (stomach, colorectal, appendix, small bowel), pancreas, liver, and biliary cancers. She also focuses on cytoreduction surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) for metastatic cancer to the peritoneum.
Her research focuses on investigating the genetic and molecular characteristics of metastatic colorectal cancer and identifying potential targeted therapies.
“As a surgical oncologist, I am committed to providing the highest level of excellent and innovative oncologic care,” she says.
Dr. Ruff grew up in New York and studied molecular and cellular biology at Johns Hopkins University. She was part of the first class at Hofstra University’s Zucker School of Medicine. She completed her general surgery residency at Northwell Health, where she received multiple awards for clinical and professional excellence.
During her residency, she spent two years at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) studying the tumor microenvironment and creating novel pre-clinical models. While at the NIH, she served as the administrative chief fellow and received an award for clinical excellence.
Dr. Ruff recently completed a fellowship in complex general surgical oncology and hepatopancreatobiliary surgery at The Ohio State University.
Academic Information
- Department
- Surgery
- Academic Role
- Assistant Professor
- Division
- Surgical Oncology / Endocrine Surgery
- Gender
- Female
- Languages
- English
- Age Groups Seen
- Adults (21-65)
Older Adults (65+)
- Primary Education
- Donald & Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
- Residency
- Northwell Health
- Fellowships
- National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Ohio State University
- Certification
- American Board of Surgery (Complex General Surgical Oncology), American Board of Surgery (Surgery (General Surgery))
Highlights
Meet Cancer Surgeon Samantha Ruff, MD
My name is Samantha Ruff. I'm a surgical oncologist with UVA Health. I mainly focus on operating on patients with cancers in the abdomen, which is mostly gastrointestinal malignancies, and what that means is that I operate on the stomach, the intestines, the colon, the liver, the pancreas. So I have wanted to be a doctor since I was a little kid. For me, it was really about being able to make a direct impact on people's lives in a positive way. I knew I wanted to do something with science. I wanted to do something that would help the world. I think as a high schooler, it felt like a big thing to help the whole world, but I knew that I could go to work every day and be a doctor and help people on an individual level. I think when you come in the office, you know, you'll be checked in, you'll be brought back to a room. You might see one of our team members before you actually meet me. But what I hope is that when you meet me, we are able to relieve some of the anxieties that you probably came in with. I'm going to listen to what's going on. I'm going to go through with you what I've learned about you from looking through the chart, looking through all of your imaging, and also I'm going to talk to you and hear your story, because everyone has part of the story that's never in the chart. And so I learn a lot just from listening to kind of what the journey has been to get you to my office. So in my time here at UVA, I found that it's a very special place. I think it's really that the whole hospital, all different levels and within the grander UVA system really works as a team. The nurses, the techs, the physical therapists, everyone is just really working together to take good care of patients. And I think that's very special to be at a place with such good multidisciplinary care. I think everyone is very patient-focused here.
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