Dr. Lucak has focused her practice on functional gastrointestinal disorders including irritable bowel syndrome, chronic abdominal pain, persistent diarrhea, chronic constipation, bloating, non-cardiac chest pain, nausea and vomiting.   She is particularly interested in the treatment of these disorders and has worked with pharmaceutical companies to educate doctors and health care providers about novel treatments for these medical conditions.  She has lectured widely in the United States.

Dr. Lucak is also involved in improving colon cancer screening rates and is part of the New York Citywide Colon Cancer Control Coalition (C5) which is a partnership between the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the NYC Health and Hospital Corporation, the Greater NY Hospital Association, the American Cancer Society, local physicians, patients and community groups.  

In the past, Dr. Lucak’s research efforts centered on evaluating the clinical efficacy and safety of IBS treatments and on various clinical aspects of functional gastrointestinal disorders.  She is a Special Lecturer at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University.  She was a faculty member at Columbia University Medical Center for 24 years.  Since 2010, she has been in private practice on the upper east side of Manhattan and has been an attending physician at the Lenox Hill Hospital.

Dr. Lucak continues to lecture at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Columbia University.  She also teaches gastroenterology fellows at the Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.

Dr. Lucak has been selected among the top 5% of New York City physicians in Gastroenterology by her peers as listed in the Super Doctors section of the New York Times Magazine from 2009 to 2013.  She was also named in Castle Connolly’s “Top Doctors” in New York Metro Are from 2011 to 2013.  In addition, she has been chosen as a Top Gastroenterologist in New York, NY by the International Association of Healthcare Professionals and will be spotlighted in the publication called The Leading Physicians of The World.

Selected Publications

Lucak S. Irritable bowel syndrome and ischemic colitis: evidence supporting the increased use of alosetron.  Editorial.  Ther Adv Gastroenterol 2012 July; 5(4):215-218. Doi: 10.1177/1756283X12450934

Lucak S. Optimizinf Outcomes with Alosetron Hydrochloride in Severe IBS-D.  Ther Adv Gastroenterol.  Accepted for publication 12/29/2009.

Spiegel B, Bolus R, Harris L, Lucak S, Naliboff B, Esrailian E, Chey WD, Lembo A, Karsan H, Tillisch K, Talley J, Mayer E, Chang L.  Characterizing Pain Attributes in IBS: Guidance for the study inclusion criteria and outcome measurement.  Alimnet Pharmacol Ther 2009 Dec 1;30(11-12):1159-70. Epub 2009 Sep 12.

Johanson JF and Lucak  S.  Management of Irritable Bowel Syndrome with Constipation in Adult Women.  Gastroenterology & Endoscopy News, May 2009, Volume 60, Number 5, Special Report 1-7.

Lucak S.  What do therapists need to know about IBS.  BNH Journal.  April 2009. Online.

Lucak S.  Brain-Body Interactions: Functional Somatic Syndromes. Eur Androl Suppl 2008; 2(1):35.

Lucak S.  IBS: Psychiatric Factors and Therapies.  Psychiatric Times, July 2005, vol XXII (8):68-73.

Lucak SL. Diagnosing IBS: What’s Too Much, What’s Enough? MedGenMed 2004 Mar 12;6(1), 17

Lucak S, Heitkemper MM. The Experts Discuss Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Interview by Jodi Godfrey Meisler. J Women’s Health Gend Based Med. 2001 Apr;10(3): 223-8.