Narjust Florez, MD, FASCO

Associate Director, Cancer Care Equity Program, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

Founder, Florez Laboratory

Dr. Narjust Florez is a clinician-researcher committed to improving cancer care for vulnerable populations, particularly young patients and women with lung cancer. Her clinical interests and research focus on utilizing novel approaches for timely lung cancer diagnosis, targeted therapies for early-stage lung cancer, the unique disease characteristics in young adults with lung cancer, survivorship challenges in lung cancer, and the role of intersectionality in shaping patients’ experiences.

Dr. Florez is originally from Venezuela and graduated first in her medical school class at Universidad Católica Nordestana in the Dominican Republic. She completed her internal medicine residency at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School (recognized as the Department of Medicine's most academic resident in 2015 and 2016) and completed a hematology and clinical oncology fellowship at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where she served as chief fellow in oncology from 2018 to 2019.

During her time at the University of Wisconsin, she founded the Midwest's first clinic dedicated to women with lung cancer. The clinic rapidly grew and was honored with the North American Cancer Care Team Award for exceptional clinical care at the 2021 World Conference on Lung Cancer.

Assuming the role of Associate Director of the Cancer Care Equity Program at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Dr. Florez oversees the Community-Based Cancer Diagnostic Clinic, addressing barriers to timely diagnosis for underserved populations. Her contributions have led her to become the first Latina to hold an associate editor position for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at JAMA Oncology. Dr. Florez is also actively involved in community education and mentoring the next generation of healthcare providers and researchers.

As faculty at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and founder of the Florez Laboratory, Dr. Florez designs large-scale interventions to reduce barriers in lung cancer care. These efforts involve establishing national and international collaborations with hospitals, lung cancer foundations, and advocacy groups. She works in partnership with organizations such as ASCO and IASLC to revise exclusion criteria using evidence-based, population-tailored approaches. She also works closely with patient advocacy groups like YLC, EGFRresisters, and ALK Positive to ensure her research aligns with patient experiences. Notably, through her establishment of the Florez lab she created the Young Lung Cancer Study, the first to examine the challenges faced by patients diagnosed with lung cancer under 50. This groundbreaking study has deepened understanding of survivorship and disease biology in young adults with lung cancer. She currently leads several notable studies. These include the Fertility and Sexual Health in Immunotherapy (FhINCH) Study, which examines the effects of immunotherapy on fertility and sexual health in young women with lung cancer and melanoma, and the Lung Cancer Diagnosis Delays (LEAD) Study. Additionally, she is launching the EQUAL Study, which explores a new blood test that could revolutionize EGFR-positive lung cancer detection. This study emphasizes community engagement to ensure the voices of those most affected shape the research. Since its founding, the lab has published over 50 original studies and editorials.

Dr. Florez’s work has earned numerous accolades, she has been recognized by the Boston Business Journal in the Health Equity Champion category of the 2025 Innovators in Healthcare program and the 2024 Jimmy Fund Award for Rookie of the Year. She has authored more than 115 scientific publications, with her work appearing in high-impact journals such as the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Nature, Cancer Cell, JAMA Oncology, and The Lancet Oncology. In 2022, her work has also been featured in various media outlets, including The New York Times, STAT News, Healio, OncLive, Vox News, Business Insider, ASCO Post, ASCO Connection, Doximity, and The Cancer Letter.

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