
Norman Greeley Nicolson, MD, MHS
Gastrointestinal Surgical OncologySurgical Oncology
Highlights
Age Groups Seen
- Young Adult 18-25
- Adult 26-64
- Older Adult 65+
Languages
- English
Gender
MaleJohns 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
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, visit: https://secure.jhu.edu/form/Nicolson
Centers and Institutes
Additional Academic Titles
Assistant Professor of Oncology
PubMed - Publications
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
- Levi Watkins, Jr., M.D., Outpatient Center
- 601 North Caroline Street, Floor 8, Baltimore, MD 21287
- Get Directions
- phone: 443-997-1508
- fax: 443-769-1242
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 reviewsThe 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.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 2/19/2026
I trust him.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 2/19/2026
Excellent medical care and follow up after major surgery.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 2/19/2026
Very skilled. Caring
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 2/12/2026
Excellent surgeon!! Highly recommend Dr. Norman Nicolson.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed 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 starsReviewed 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 starsReviewed 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 starsReviewed 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 starsReviewed on 1/8/2026
Interested in understanding more about my self medicating with repurposed drugs
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed 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 starsReviewed 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 starsReviewed on 12/18/2025
Excellent care and genuine concern
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 12/11/2025
Gave me total confidence.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 12/11/2025
Both the resident and Dr Nicolson were very knowledgeable, professional and kind.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 12/9/2025
Took time to listen to my concerns
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 11/20/2025
Engaged and Mindful
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed 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 starsReviewed on 11/13/2025
Dr. Nicolson has been a caring provider every step of my very complicated journey.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed 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 starsReviewed on 10/16/2025
Professional, knowledgeable, courageous, genuine, works hard to help improve my health.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 10/9/2025
Fantastic, as always.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed 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 starsReviewed on 8/28/2025
This visit was a follow up from my previous surgery. Dr. Nicolson is an excellent doctor
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 7/17/2025
Dr Nicolson provides clear explanations and welcomes my questions.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed 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 starsReviewed on 7/3/2025
Very curitous and listened to me.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 6/26/2025
Very informative
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 6/19/2025
Great
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 6/12/2025
I couldn't have asked for a better dr he was excellent
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 6/5/2025
Waited 2.5 hours after my CT Scan to see the Doctor
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed 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 starsReviewed 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 starsReviewed on 4/24/2025
Excellent, very impressive!