Johnny Kao

New York Oncology Hematology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai

Papers

Total Citations

201

H-Index

About

Johnny Kao is a leading clinician-scientist in head and neck oncology and radiation biology, whose work bridges advanced surgical techniques with precision molecular assays. His most influential contribution is the landmark 2011 study on transoral robotic surgery (TORS) for head and neck cancer, which has accumulated over 160 citations. In this prospective work, Kao systematically compared outcomes between patients treated with TORS and those receiving concurrent chemoradiation, providing critical evidence on survival, patterns of failure, and functional recovery that helped define the role of robotic resection in organ-preserving treatment paradigms. Beyond the operating room, Kao has made significant technical contributions to radiation biology, including the development of an automated γ-H2AX immunocytochemistry assay. This innovation, which quantifies radiation-induced DNA double-strand breaks, offers a high-throughput platform for assessing physiological responses to ionizing radiation—a tool with broad applications in both clinical radiosensitivity testing and basic radiobiology research. Kao’s dual expertise in surgical innovation and molecular dosimetry positions him as a distinctive figure whose work directly impacts how we treat head and neck malignancies while advancing our fundamental understanding of cellular radiation responses.