Dr. Andrew de la Torre was born and raised in New York City, attended public school and graduated from Francis Lewis High School in 1979. He received a BA in Chemistry from Queens College in Flushing Queens, then went on to the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, where he received his Medical Doctorate in 1989.
He spent a year as a research fellow studying macrophage immunology in sepsis at Cornell University. He then went on to a surgical residency at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, New Jersey Medical School in Newark New Jersey. After completing his surgical residency, he completed fellowships in kidney, pancreas and liver transplantation at the University of Maryland and New Jersey Medical School. During his organ transplant fellowship he studied and published on the relationship between endotoxin mediated S-nitrosylation of DNA binding proteins and gene transcription.
After completing his transplant fellowships, he went on to a faculty position in liver transplantation and hepatobiliary surgery at the New Jersey Medical School (NJMS), University Hospital from 2000-2012. During that time, in addition to liver transplant and complex hepatobiliary surgery, he conducted research and published on the use of immunotherapy to treat cancers of the liver, the role of type III interferons in liver cancer, and how to use informatics to improve early diagnosis of liver disease and cancer in underserved urban communities. While at NJMS, Dr. de la Torre received numerous grants and ran clinical trials to treat liver disease, as well as liver and pancreas cancer. In 2007, Dr. de la Torre was the first surgeon to perform a major liver resection in New Jersey. Since then, Dr. de la Torre has performed hundreds of laparoscopic liver and pancreas surgeries. In 2010 Dr. de la Torre received a grant from the Human resources and Services Administration to develop a training program for the first liver disease patient navigator.
In 2012 Dr. de la Torre started the Hepatobiliary Surgical and Liver Disease program at St. Joseph’s Medical Center. He continued to advance his laparoscopic liver surgical technique and in 2018 published “A Sling Technique For Laparoscopic Resection of Segment Seven of the Liver” in the Journal of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgery. Destined to continue to improve early diagnosis of liver disease and cancer, Dr. de la Torre ran a grant-funded program to embed “Smart Algorithms” within electronic health record systems to automate testing of hepatitis C and/or B in “Baby Boomers” and people born in countries with high infection risk. In 2016 he received a special commendation from the International Liver Congress (ILC) and World Health Organization for Hepatitis Testing innovation. His work resulted in the diagnosis of over 1000 people within one year with hepatitis C infection and resulted in a publication entitled “Electronic Health Record Year and Country of Birth Testing and Patient Navigation to Increase Diagnosis of Chronic Viral Hepatitis”. While at St Joseph’s Dr. de la Torre was the Principal Investigator on numerous clinical trials in liver disease, liver and pancreas cancer. In 2017 he published “A Phase I trial using local regional treatment, nonleathal irradiation, intratumoral and systematic polyinosinic polycytidylic acis polulusinecarboxymethylcellulose to treat liver cancer: in search of the abscopal effect” in the Journal of Hepatocellular Carcinoma..
Determined to make a difference in the culturally diverse and densely populated communities in Hudson County, Dr. de la Torre now heads Hepatobiliary surgery and Advanced Liver Disease Services for Carepoint Health.
Most Recent Publications
Electronic Health Record Year and Country of Birth Testing and Patient Navigation to Increase Diagnosis of Chronic Viral Hepatitis. de la Torre AN, Ahmad M, Fernandez I, Ayoub F, Korogosky M, Pichardo N, Green L, Montesdeoca A, McDowall P, Danko C. Journal of Viral Hepatitis, In Press
A Sling Technique For Laparoscopic Resection of Segment Seven of the Liver. Mashchenko I, Trtchounian
A,Buchultz C, de la Torre AN Journal of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgery 2018 Apr-Jun; 22(2)
APhase I trial using local regional treatment, nonlethal irradiation, intratumoral and systemic polyinosinicpolycytidylic acid polylysinecarboxymethylcellulose to treat liver cancer: in search of the abscopal effect. de la Torre AN, Contractor S, Castaneda I, Cathcart C, Razdan D, Clyde D, Kisza P, Gonzalez S, Salazar. Journal Hepatocellular Carcinoma. 2017 Aug 7;4:111-121
Patient Targeted Informatics to Increase Blood Testing, Diagnosis and Vaccination in High Risk Populations for Chronic Viral Hepatitis. de la Torre AN,Castaneda I, Elkholy N, Tham N, Peyton A, Samanta A, Leevy CB. 2017 Jun 21. Journal of Viral Hepatitis
For more information visit:
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore MD: Medical Doctorate
Cornell University NY, NY: Immunology Fellowship
UMDNJ, New Jersey Medical School, Newark NJ: General Surgery Residency
University of Maryland Medical School, Baltimore MD: Kidney/Pancreas Transplant Fellowship
UMDNJ, New Jersey Medical School, Newark NJ: Liver Transplant Fellowship
Assistant Professor Rutgers University: Liver Transplant & Hepatobiliary Surgery 2000-2006
Associate Professor Rutgers University: Liver Transplant & Hepatobiliary Surgery 2007-2012
Director Liver Disease Services & Hepatobiliary Surgery St Joseph’s Medical Center 2012-2017
American Board of Surgery 1999, 2010
American Association for the Study of Liver Disease
American Liver Foundation, Medical Advisory Committee, New York, North New Jersey Chapter
New Jersey State Viral Hepatitis Committee
Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association
American College of Surgeons, Fellow
International Liver Transplant Society