Dr. Joseph Franses is an assistant in medicine and a gastrointestinal medical oncologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital with translational research interests in pancreatic, liver, and bile duct cancers. Dr. Franses graduated with highest honors in Chemical Engineering and Chemistry from Purdue University. He completed his MD and PhD in Biomedical Engineering at the combined Harvard Medical School / Massachusetts Institute of Technology Health Science and Technology Medical Scientist Training Program. Dr. Franses completed internship and residency in internal medicine at the Massachusetts General Hospital and his fellowship training in medical oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center.

Dr. Franses is active in the clinic and laboratory, where his research interests involve: 1) development of novel blood- and tissue-based biomarkers to predict disease outcomes and responses to conventional and novel therapies, 2) understanding the tumor microenvironment contributes to drug resistance and response. He is an instructor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and enjoys teaching fellows, residents, and medical students.