Meet the Team
2025-2026
The newly formed Pediatric Cancer Foundation of New Jersey (PCFNJ) has been established to provide much-needed resources to children diagnosed with cancer, and to their parents and care teams.
Conceived by top Orthopedic Oncologist, executive, educator, physician, and healer Dr. James C. Wittig, MD, several years ago, the primary mission of PCFNJ is to support children afflicted with cancer and their families with resources that address related financial, physical, emotional, and mental health challenges.
Our Founder
James C. Wittig, MD is an internationally renowned orthopedic oncologist and sarcoma surgeon. He has been practicing in the New York Metro and New Jersey area for over 25 years. During his career, Dr. Wittig has held numerous roles at several prestigious teaching institutions including NYU, Mount Sinai, John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack Meridian and most recently at Morristown Medical Center and Atlantic Health System.
His clinical practice is focused on limb saving surgery for children and adults with bone sarcomas and soft tissue sarcomas as well as complex surgeries for all types of musculoskeletal tumors and bone cancers.
Dr. Wittig performed a unique 2-year fellowship in orthopedic oncology at Washington Hospital Center, Children’s National Medical Center and the National Institutes of Health (NIH/NCI) under the tutelage of limb saving pioneer, Martin Malawer, MD. This 2 year fellowship, as opposed to the typical one year fellowships, afforded Dr. Wittig additional specialized training in the radiological and pathological diagnosis of musculoskeletal tumors at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) as well as further specialized training and experience separating tumors safely from major blood vessels and nerves and utilizing plastic surgical techniques to repair complex defects utilizing distinctive tissue transfers and reconstructive techniques.
Dr. Wittig has performed surgery on over 10,000 children and adult orthopedic oncology patients since he started practicing in 2001.
In Dr. Wittig’s most recent roles as Chairman of Orthopedics at Morristown Medical Center and Medical Director of Orthopedics, Orthopedic Oncology and Sarcoma Surgery in Atlantic Health System, Dr. Wittig elevated and transformed a community based orthopedic program into a nationally acclaimed, teaching orthopedic program. In 2018, Dr. Wittig created a 5-year vision and strategic plan that he accomplished in 4 years despite challenges created by Covid.
Dr. Wittig was honored by the Sarcoma Foundation of American (SFA) with the prestigious Nobility in Science Award for his decades of innovation, contributions and excellence in delivering positive outcomes for patients. He is respected particularly for his healing of our smallest cancer warriors.
Dr. Wittig propelled Morristown Orthopedics into becoming the #1 orthopedic program in New Jersey and the #16 program in the United States according to US News and World Report. He established the first orthopedic residency in Atlantic Health System with the help of a $5 million dollar donation from a grateful patient. Orthopedic surgical volume grew under his leadership at least approximately 30% over 5 years while maintaining outstanding quality in the United States according to many metrics such as Healthgrades and Vizient.
At Morristown Medical Center orthopedic surgical volume grew from ~9,000 cases annually in 2018 to ~12,500 by 2024. Likewise, the entire system saw a similar growth in orthopedic volume from ~12,500 orthopedic surgeries annually to ~17,000. The first orthopedic oncology service in Atlantic Health System was also established by Dr. Wittig and his team of advanced practitioners and nurses culminating in one of the busiest and top-quality orthopedic oncology and sarcoma surgery practices in the United States performing over 700 procedures annually from zero at the commencement of his leadership.
In 2020, Covid had dramatic impacts impairing the ability for orthopedic patients to receive the surgical care they required. By July 2020, orthopedic volume was at 30% of the preceding year. Many patients were in pain and disabled by their conditions. Dr. Wittig instituted specific strategies to optimize human and other resources to maximize the hospitals and practices’ ability to deliver the much need care to as many orthopedic patients as possible. As a result, 90% of orthopedic surgical volume was restored by year end of 2020, enabling as many patients as possible to regain their quality of life.
Several technological advances were also accomplished at Morristown Medical Center and Atlantic Health System during Dr. Wittig’s tenure such as the introduction of robotic orthopedic surgery. The system adopted use of both the Mako and rosa robots and Morristown Medical Center was the first institution in the world to utilize the Stryker Mako spine robot. Desiring additional personal and professional growth combined with an eagerness to provide orthopedic oncology and sarcoma patients with a more holistic approach to being cured and healing, Dr. Wittig decided to take a sabbatical filled with special courses and learning objectives as well as efforts to establish a new business focused on holistic care, innovation and philanthropy.
Dr. Wittig subsequently established Mandala Medical Group, based in New Jersey, supporting the development of a center for health and healing, a range of technology-based health innovations, a private Orthopedic Practice, and the Pediatric Children’s Foundation of New Jersey.
Prior to establishing the group in July 2025, Dr. Wittig served as Chairman of the Department of Orthopedics, Morristown Medical Center, and Medical Director, Orthopedic Oncology, Atlantic Health System. In this role, he was responsible for ensuring outstanding quality, academic excellence, and optimal operational performance across Atlantic Health System’s six hospitals.
Dr. Wittig is one of approximately 100 orthopedic oncologists in the nation. His work treating and researching pediatric and adult patients with bone and soft tissue cancers and benign tumors and metastatic cancers is internationally recognized. He is actively involved in clinical research, about which he lectures and publishes frequently. Dr. Wittig wrote and co-edited Techniques in Orthopedic Surgical Oncology, the sole textbook that details surgical procedures in orthopedic oncology.
Dr. Wittig previously served as Vice Chairman, Orthopedic Surgery; Chief of Orthopedic Oncology & Sarcoma Surgery (pediatric and adult) and Director, Skin & Sarcoma Division at Hackensack University Medical Center. Prior to that role, he served as chief of Orthopedic Oncology at Mount Sinai Medical Center and practiced at NYU Medical Center and Hospital for Joint Diseases. As assistant professor of orthopedic oncology at NYU Medical Center, he was elected Teacher of the Year from a department of 120 orthopedic surgeons.
Dr. Wittig frequently trains international residents and fellows from other countries who come to the United States specifically to learn Dr. Wittig’s surgical techniques and his approach for diagnosing and treating patients with musculoskeletal tumors. He established the first orthopedic oncology clinic for indigent care in New York City at Bellevue Hospital Center and established the Sarcoma Service at NYU-Tisch Hospital where he also served as director of the Sarcoma Division of NYU Cancer Institute.
Dr. Wittig received his Bachelor of Science degree from Seton Hall University, and his Doctor of Medicine degree from New York University School of Medicine. He completed his residency in Orthopedic Surgery at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in Manhattan where he served as chief resident, followed by a unique two-year fellowship at the Washington Cancer Institute of the Washington Hospital Center and Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC. During fellowship, he served as Sarcoma Consultant to the Surgical and Pediatric Oncology Branches of the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Dr. Wittig is a member of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, New Jersey Orthopedic Society, New York State Society of Orthopaedic Surgeons, Inc., and is a specialty fellow of the American Pediatric Association and the Medical Society of New Jersey.
Born in New Jersey, Dr. Wittig raised his family in the Garden State as a devoted father, brother, cousin, son and friend to many, including a menagerie of dogs. He is a fitness enthusiast, a lover of nature, a photographer, student and practitioner of meditation, hypnosis, and functional medicine, and man of faith.
Additional Information
View Dr. Wittig’s LinkedIn Profile Page
Visit James C. Wittig MD (website)
Visit Orthopedic Oncology Global
Our Team
Cynthia Artin
Executive Director
Arlene Kleinsorge
Co-Founder & Family Ambassador
Erin Wittig
Co-Founder & Director, Positively Creative
Governing Board
Brad Huntington
Christian Charles Wittig
Dr. Christopher Hubbard
Keith Saracinello
Roberta Moldow, PhD
Jeffrey Singman
Suzanne Falla, PhD
Ryan Mulvany
William “Bill” Adiletta
Richard Coppa
An advisory board is also being assembled, seeking inspired and committed members who bring their talents and relationships to the table, along with committees representing youth, parents, pediatric oncologists, pediatric oncology nurses, and nurse practitioners, among others.