My Locations
About Me
My passion is the treatment of patients with gastrointestinal (GI) malignancies. I strive to take the very best care of my patients that I possibly can. Working with world-class colleagues and a multidisciplinary team, which includes radiation and surgical oncologists, makes this possible. I first became interested in oncology as a first-year medical student when I got to see tumors in my pathology class. I came to appreciate the beauty of the gastrointestinal tract while observing GI surgeries as a second-year medical student. My fascination with how cancers develop and how we may develop new therapies to treat cancer led me to pursue a PhD in molecular cancer biology. This training honed the critical thinking skills that I still use to this day, as I decide how to best treat my patients. The close relationships that oncologists have with patients and their families clinched my decision to pursue a career as a medical oncologist. During my fellowship training, I sought out subspecialty training in GI oncology. When I am not working, I enjoy spending time with my husband and four young children and running.
- Associate Professor of Medicine, Medicine, Medical Oncology 2023
- Member of the Duke Cancer Institute, Duke Cancer Institute 2017
Areas of Expertise
- Colorectal Cancer
- Anal Cancer
- Pancreatic Cancer
- Stomach Cancer
- Esophageal Cancer
- Unknown Primary Cancer
- Bile Duct Cancer
Ratings and Reviews
The ratings and reviews are based on patient responses to the overall provider rating question from the survey. The question reads: “Using any number from 0 to 10, where 0 is the worst provider possible and 10 is the best provider possible, what number would you use to rate this provider?” Responses are converted to a 5-point rating system and applied consistently to all providers. Learn more about our survey process. Patients who see some types of providers receive a different version of the patient satisfaction survey. Those results are not available on DukeHealth.org.
Training and Education
In the News
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Clinical Focus and Research
My long-term goal is to develop new therapies to treat patients with gastrointestinal cancers. To accomplish this, I am active in designing, writing, and running Phase I, II, and III clinical trials. I am interested in the correlative science that furthers our understanding of cancer at a molecular level. I am interested in the identification of biomarkers, which are characteristics of a given patient's tumor that may help us to understand his or her prognosis or how well he or she may respond to a given therapy. The overall objective of this research is to use the knowledge gained to personalize care and find the very best therapies that will enable our patients to fight their cancer.
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EAY191-S3 Advanced non-breast solid tumors with AKT-alterationsIRB# PRO00114179 , NCT# NCT05554380
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EAY191-A3 (RAS-Mutant Cancers)IRB# PRO00115258 , NCT# NCT05554367
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RASolute 302: RMC-6236 vs SOC in PDAC (Pancreatic Cancer)IRB# PRO00116619 , NCT# NCT06625320
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AMG 193 + Other Therapies in Advanced GI & PDAC with homozygous MTAP-deletion (20230223)IRB# PRO00116091 , NCT# NCT06360354
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A Ph 1/2 of PC14586 in Patients with Advanced or Metastatic Tumors w/ TP53 Y220C MutationIRB# PRO00115807 , NCT# NCT04585750
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Ph 1 Study of PF-07934040 in Subjects with Adv Solid Tumors with KRAS MutationIRB# PRO00116192 , NCT# NCT06447662
- Saleh, M., M. Barve, V. Subbiah, K. P. Papadopoulos, D. Morgensztern, N. B. Mettu, S. Roychowdhury, et al. “Open-label, dose-escalation FIGHT-101 study of pemigatinib combined with targeted therapy, chemotherapy, or immunotherapy in patients with advanced malignancies.” ESMO Open 9, no. 7 (July 2024): 103625. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esmoop.2024.103625.
- Munster, Pamela, Nicholas Iannotti, Daniel C. Cho, John M. Kirkwood, Liza C. Villaruz, Geoffrey T. Gibney, F Stephen Hodi, et al. “Correction: Combination of Itacitinib or Parsaclisib with Pembrolizumab in Patients with Advanced Solid Tumors: A Phase I Study.” Cancer Res Commun 4, no. 3 (March 13, 2024): 785. https://doi.org/10.1158/2767-9764.CRC-24-0133.
- Rosen, Ezra, Timothy A. Yap, Elizabeth K. Lee, Martin Højgaard, Niharika B. Mettu, Stephanie Lheureux, Benedito A. Carneiro, et al. “Development of a Practical Nomogram for Personalized Anemia Management in Patients Treated with Ataxia Telangiectasia and Rad3-related Inhibitor Camonsertib.” Clinical Cancer Research : An Official Journal of the American Association for Cancer Research 30, no. 4 (February 2024): 687–94. https://doi.org/10.1158/1078-0432.ccr-23-2080.
- Mettu, Niharika B., Donna Niedzwiecki, Christel Rushing, Andrew B. Nixon, Jingquan Jia, Sherri Haley, Wanda Honeycutt, Herbert Hurwitz, Johanna C. Bendell, and Hope Uronis. “A phase I study of gemcitabine + dasatinib (gd) or gemcitabine + dasatinib + cetuximab (GDC) in refractory solid tumors.” In Cancer Chemotherapy and Pharmacology, 83:1025–35, 2019. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00280-019-03805-6.
Insurance Accepted
Duke Health contracts with most major health insurance carriers and transplant networks, including the ones listed below.
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Aetna
- Aetna Choice POS, Aetna Choice POS II
- Aetna Elect Choice HMO, Aetna Open Access Elect Choice
- Aetna Health Network Only, Aetna Health Network Option
- Aetna HMO
- Aetna Limited Benefit Insurance PPO
- Aetna Managed Choice POS
- Aetna Medicare Assure Plan (HMO D-SNP)
- Aetna Medicare Eagle Plan (PPO)
- Aetna Medicare Essential Plan (PPO)
- Aetna Medicare Value Plan (HMO)
- Aetna Open Access HMO, Open Access Aetna Select, Aetna Open Access Managed Choice
- Aetna Open Choice PPO
- Aetna PCP Coordinated POS Plan
- Aetna Quality Point of Service (QPOS)
- Aetna Select HMO
- Aetna Traditional Choice
- Aetna Voluntary Indemnity Group Plan
- Aetna Whole Health – Duke WakeMed WKCC
- Aetna/CVS Health
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Ambetter
- Ambetter of North Carolina
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Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC
- Blue Advantage
- Blue Medicare (HMO, PPO)*
- Blue Options (123, PPO, HSA)
- Blue Select
- NC State Employees Health Plan
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*Duke HomeCare and Hospice does not participate in the plan.
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Cigna
- Cigna Behavioral Health (*Limited eligibility)
- Cigna Choice Plus
- Cigna Connect Individual Family Plan
- Cigna Open Access
- Cigna Open Access Plus
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*Please call Cigna Behavioral Heath to see if the provider is participating in your plan.
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Duke Group Plans
- Duke Basic
- Duke Select
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Experience Health
- Experience Health Medicare Advantage (HMO) Plan
- Gateway Health Alliance
- Healthgram
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Humana
- Humana Choice (PPO)
- Humana Choice - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
- Humana ChoiceCare - Medicare Advantage (PPO)
- Humana Gold Choice - Medicare Advantage (PFFS)
- Humana Gold Plus - Medicare Advantage (HMO)
- Humana Medicare Advantage Group Plan - NC State Retirees
- MedCost
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Medicare
- First Medicare Direct
- Medicare Part A
- Medicare Part B
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NC Medicaid
- AmeriHealth Caritas North Carolina
- Carolina Complete Health
- Healthy Blue
- NC Medicaid Direct
- WellCare of North Carolina
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TRICARE
- TRICARE Prime
- TRICARE Prime Remote
- TRICARE Select
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United Healthcare
- AARP Medicare Advantage Plan 2 (HMO-POS)
- AARP Medicare Complete (HMO, PPO)*
- AARP Medicare Complete Essential (HMO)*
- All Savers Alternate Funding
- All Savers Fully Insured
- United Healthcare (HMO, PPO, POS)**
- United Healthcare Charter/Charter Balance/Charter Plus
- United Healthcare Choice/Choice Plus
- United Healthcare Core/Core Essential
- United Healthcare Navigate/Navigate Plus/Navigate Balanced
- United Healthcare Option PPO
- United Healthcare Passport Connect Choice/Choice Plus
- United Healthcare Passport Connect Options PPO
- United Healthcare Select/Select Plus
- United Healthcare Shared Services - Harvard Pilgrim/UHC Options PPO Network
- United Medical Resources (UMR)
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*Duke HomeCare and Hospice and mental health providers do not participate with the plan.
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**Duke Health does not participate in UHC plans on the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Before scheduling your appointment, we strongly recommend you contact your insurance company to verify that the Duke Health location or provider you plan to visit is included in your network. Your insurance company will also be able to inform you of any co-payments, co–insurances, or deductibles that will be your responsibility. If you proceed in scheduling an appointment and your health insurance benefits do not participate with Duke, your out of pocket liability may be higher. We will contact you regarding your coverage and patient liability. If you are uninsured, learn more about our financial assistance policy.