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Norman Greeley Nicolson

Norman Greeley Nicolson, MD, MHS

Gastrointestinal Surgical OncologySurgical Oncology

Accepting New Patients

Highlights

Age Groups Seen

  • Young Adult 18-25
  • Adult 26-64
  • Older Adult 65+

Languages

  • English

Gender

Male

Johns Hopkins Affiliations:

  • Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Faculty

About Norman Greeley Nicolson

Physician’s Office Phone

410-502-2846

Primary Academic Title

Assistant Professor of Surgery

Johns Hopkins Physician

Logo for Johns Hopkins Physician

Background

Norman G. Nicolson, M.D., M.H.S., is an Assistant Professor of Surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and a surgical oncologist within the Division of HPB & Gastrointestinal Surgical Oncology.  

Dr. Nicolson completed his complex general surgical oncology clinical fellowship training and an NIH-funded T32 research fellowship at Johns Hopkins prior to joining the surgical faculty. Prior to this, he completed his undergraduate work at Williams College and medical degree at Northwestern University, followed by internship and residency in general surgery at Yale New Haven Hospital with a Masters in Health Sciences and research fellowship at Yale University. 

Dr. Nicolson specializes in treating patients with gastric cancer, peritoneal surface malignancy, appendiceal neoplasms, retroperitoneal sarcoma, gastrointestinal neuroendocrine and stromal tumors, and complex or recurrent tumors of the GI tract. He is trained in both minimally invasive and traditional open approaches to treating these cancers, utilizing laparoscopic or robotic approaches when appropriate. He emphasizes the importance of multi-disciplinary care and patient-centered decision-making, working closely with colleagues in medical and radiation oncology, gastroenterology, and radiology to provide comprehensive personalized cancer care appropriate to each individual. 

Dr. Nicolson's translational research focuses on computational and bioinformatics approaches to high-dimensional sequencing data from human biospecimens to better understand tumor cell biomarker heterogeneity and the importance of the tumor-draining lymph node in tumor-immune cell interactions in gastrointestinal tumors. He is a member of several academic and clinical professional societies, including the American College of Surgeons, the Association for Academic Surgery, the American Society for Clinical Oncology, the American Association for Cancer Research, and the Society of Surgical Oncology.

To support Dr. Nicolson's research, visithttps://secure.jhu.edu/form/Nicolson

Additional Academic Titles

Assistant Professor of Oncology

Selected Publications

  • Norman G Nicolson, Joseph A Tandurella, Lawrence W Wu, Jignasha Patel, Eli Morris, Toni T Seppälä, Samantha Guinn, Haley Zlomke, Christopher R Shubert, Kelly J Lafaro, William R Burns, John L Cameron, Jin He, Elana J Fertig, Elizabeth M Jaffee, Jacquelyn W Zimmerman, Richard A Burkhart. “Patient-derived Organoid Pharmacotyping As A Predictive Tool for Therapeutic Selection in Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma.” Annals of Surgery. 2024 Sep 4. PMID 39229726
  • Nicolson NG, Paulsson JO, Juhlin CC, Carling T, Korah R. “Transcription Factor Profiling Identifies Spatially Heterogenous Mediators of Follicular Thyroid Cancer Invasion.” Endocr Pathol. 2020 Oct 16. PMID 33063251
  • Heller DR*, Nicolson NG*, Ahuja N, Khan SA, Kunstman JW. *Co-first authors. “Effects of Treatment Inequity and Ancestry on Pancreatic Ductal Adenocarcinoma Outcomes.” JAMA Surgery. 2019 Dec 4. PMID 31800002
  • Nicolson NG, Brown TC, Korah R, Carling T. “Immune cell infiltrate-associated dysregulation of DNA repair machinery may predispose to papillary thyroid carcinogenesis.” Surgery. 2019 Aug 19. pii: S0039-6060(19)30459-3. PMID 31439400
  • Nicolson NG*, Murtha TD*, Dong W*, Paulsson JO, Choi J, Barbieri AL, Brown TC, Kunstman JW, Larsson C, Prasad ML, Korah R, Lifton RP, Juhlin CC, Carling T. *Co-first-authors. “Comprehensive Genetic Analysis of Follicular Thyroid Carcinoma Predicts Prognosis Independent of Histology.” Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2018 Jul 1;103(7):2640-2650. PMID 29726952

Memberships

  • Society of Surgical Oncology, member
  • American Society for Clinical Oncology, member
  • Americas Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association, member
  • American College of Surgeons, member
  • Pancreas Club, member

Locations

  1. Levi Watkins, Jr., M.D., Outpatient Center

Expertise

Education

  • Fellowship: Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Complex General Surgical Oncology, 2024
  • Residency: Yale New Haven Health, General Surgery, 2022
  • Graduate School: Yale University, MHS, 2019
  • Medical Education: Northwestern University School of Medicine, MD, 2015

Board Certifications

  • Complex General Surgical Oncology: American Board of Surgery, 2025
  • Surgery (General Surgery): American Board of Surgery, 2022

Ratings & Reviews

5 out of 5

88 ratings, 33 reviews

The Patient Rating score is an average of all responses to physician related questions on the national CG-CAHPS Medical Practice patient experience survey through Press Ganey. Responses are measured on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best score. Comments are also gathered from our CG-CAHPS Medical Practice Survey through Press Ganey and displayed in their entirety. Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy.

Overall Rating by Patient
Provider Listened Carefully
Provider Explained Things Clearly
Provider Knew Medical History
Provider Showed Respect
Provider Spent Enough Time
Search reviews
    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 2/19/2026

    I trust him.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 2/19/2026

    Excellent medical care and follow up after major surgery.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 2/19/2026

    Very skilled. Caring

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 2/12/2026

    Excellent surgeon!! Highly recommend Dr. Norman Nicolson.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 1/22/2026

    Dr. Nicolson explained the complex surgery he performed extremely clearly, he answered my many questions about what exercises I could do during recovery from the surgery, and explained clearly the type and frequency of follow ups to the surgery.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 1/22/2026

    [staff] was my original doctor for my HIPEC surgery. After he left Hopkins, Dr. Nicolson has been fantastic and took over right where [staff] left off he is very knowledgeable, personable and engaging

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 1/8/2026

    Dr. Nicolson was very concerned about my health. I feel very fortunate to have had him to care for me.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 1/8/2026

    Dr Nicolson and his assistant were extremely professional and thorough in studying my case and providing opinions I can use and understand.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 1/8/2026

    Interested in understanding more about my self medicating with repurposed drugs

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 12/23/2025

    This provider was knowledgeable and kind. The fact that I have cancer and need this extensive surgery is anxiety-provoking, which has nothing to do with the provider, but makes this a difficult experience.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 12/18/2025

    Dr. Nicolson descrtibed clearly options for treatrment and details of the recommended surgery to treat my liposarcoma. He answered my many questions clearly and patiently. Icould not ask for a better interaction.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 12/18/2025

    Excellent care and genuine concern

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 12/11/2025

    Gave me total confidence.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 12/11/2025

    Both the resident and Dr Nicolson were very knowledgeable, professional and kind.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 12/9/2025

    Took time to listen to my concerns

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 11/20/2025

    Engaged and Mindful

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 11/20/2025

    My experience was what I expected and receive, I have travel to John Hopkins and I was given advice from local Doctors advise me to go to John Hopkins. The Doctors here would not even call me. When I call John Hopkins and ask for a Doctor I believe it was the Scheduler Got me in touch with the doctor and he was on vacation and called me with in 30 minutes. Very impress this visit that I received this time was exacually what I needed and was very please with the out come.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 11/13/2025

    Dr. Nicolson has been a caring provider every step of my very complicated journey.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 10/30/2025

    Dr. Nicolson was very candid about my condition. He said if you were my father, brother or other relative or friend he would not recommend either of the two options for treatment presented to me. I admire his opinion and honesty!!!

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 10/16/2025

    Professional, knowledgeable, courageous, genuine, works hard to help improve my health.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 10/9/2025

    Fantastic, as always.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 10/9/2025

    This was the very first time I'd met the provider & I was very pleased & impressed. My wife had a question for the provider after looking at the test results shown on the portal. She sent a message via the portal to the provider & he responded in a very timely manner & my wife was very impressed, as he answered her questions with clarity.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 8/28/2025

    This visit was a follow up from my previous surgery. Dr. Nicolson is an excellent doctor

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 7/17/2025

    Dr Nicolson provides clear explanations and welcomes my questions.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 7/17/2025

    I arrived a half hour as requested for my appointment. I was not seen for almost 90 minutes past my appointment time.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 7/3/2025

    Very curitous and listened to me.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 6/26/2025

    Very informative

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 6/19/2025

    Great

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 6/12/2025

    I couldn't have asked for a better dr he was excellent

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 6/5/2025

    Waited 2.5 hours after my CT Scan to see the Doctor

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 6/5/2025

    Dr. Nicolson and [staff] showed care and made me feel good during my visit. They both did a great job.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 5/29/2025

    I very much appreciated Dr. Nicolson's expertise and opinion about my case and was grateful he reviewed my medical history and scans/tests and was prepared for my consultation.

    5 out of 5 stars
    Reviewed on 4/24/2025

    Excellent, very impressive!