Dr. Maheswari Senthil is a board-certified UCI health surgical oncologist who specializes in the management of gastric cancer, peritoneal malignancies and advanced abdominal cancers and retroperitoneal sarcomas.
An internationally recognized surgical leader in the management of peritoneal carcinomatosis, she offers leading-edge clinical trials that span the breadth of intraperitoneal chemotherapy, novel diagnostic approaches and cytoreduction surgery with heated intraperitoneal chemotherapy. She is the principal investigator of EA 2234 STOPGAP II trial, a national randomized controlled trial for patients with gastric carcinomatosis, investigating the survival benefits of normothermic intraperitoneal paclitaxel combined with systemic therapy.
Senthil earned her medical degree at Madurai Medical college in Tamilnadu, India, graduating in the top one percent of her class. She completed a residency in general surgery at Rutger's University in New Jersey and a fellowship in surgical oncology at City of Hope in Duarte, Calif. She is the Chief of the Division of Surgical Oncology and the Director of the Peritoneal Malignancy Program at UC Irvine School of Medicine.
Her research interests include design of treatment and diagnostic clinical trials to test treatment approaches for managing advanced cancers. She also is studying a novel-exosome-based liquid biopsy for detection of peritoneal carcinomatosis and a peritoneal carcinomatosis tumor model to design new treatment approaches. She is the medical director of the Institute of Clinical and Translational Science and supports investigators as they develop new biomarkers for early cancer detection.
Through bedside to bench to bedside translational research and technical excellence, Senthil seeks to improve diagnosis and treatment of patients with advanced cancers. Her focus is on healing the body as well as the mind and spirit.
Nickname: Magi
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Professional Positions
- Professor and John Wayne Cancer Foundation endowed chair in Surgery — Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery, UC Irvine School of Medicine
- Medical Director — Center for Clinical Research, UC Irvine School of Medicine
- Chief — Division of Surgical Oncology, Department of Surgery
- Director — Peritoneal malignancies program, Department of Surgery
- Co-director — Melanoma program, Department of Surgery
- Member — American College of Surgeons
- Member — Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society
- Member — Society of Surgical Oncology
- Member — American Association of Cancer Research
- Member — American Cancer Society, Southern California chapter
- Member — Pacific Coast Surgical Association
- Member — American Medical Association
- Member — Gastrointestinal Committee, SWOG (July 2019-present)
- Member — Peritoneal Disease Working Committee, Society of Surgical Oncology (July 2018-present)
- Member — HIPEC Working Group, ECOG-ACRIN Cancer Research Group (February 2016-present)
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Gender
Female -
Board Certifications
- American Board of Surgery - Surgery (General Surgery)
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Medical Education
- Madurai Medical College
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Residencies
- University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey - General Surgery
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Fellowships
- City of Hope medical Center - Surgical Oncology
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Awards
- 2021 John Connolly Teacher of the Year Award, Department of Surgery, UCI School of Medicine
- Healing Hands award — Loma Linda University Health, 2017, 2018
- Excellence in Education — Loma Linda University Health
- Arnold P. Gold award for humanism and leadership
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Languages Spoken
Tamil, English
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Academic Profile