Robert S. DiPaola, MD

Dr. DiPaola earned BS and MD degrees at the University of Utah, completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at Duke University Medical Center, and completed a fellowship in hematology-oncology at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia.

With considerable experience in the area of translational research with a primary focus on the study of prostate cancer, he was one of the earliest investigators to target the degradation of bcl-2/apoptosis and autophagy/cancer metabolism in both the laboratory and clinic as a means to restore drug sensitivity in prostate cancer; and clinical studies that have had impact on standards of care, including recent studies published as senior author in high impact journals including the New England Journal of Medicine (2015) and Lancet (2016). His accomplishments in the area of translational research are also underscored by grants from the NIH, Department of Defense, ACS, and private foundations, as well as additional prior publications in other prominent journals including the JAMA, Cell, Arch Intern Med, Genes & Devel, Clinical Cancer Research, and the Journal of Clinical Oncology. He is currently Multi-PI of an NCI/NIH Therapeutics UM1 Grant with Ohio State and is a full member of multiple NCI/NIH committees, including the Investigational Drug Steering Committee and NCI/NIH IRG Subcommittee A (Parent Committee) for cancer centers review, of which he was elected Chair in August 2016.

He has also had considerable experience in leadership and administration: at Rutgers leading the growth, restructuring, and integration of an NCI-designated comprehensive cancer center as a full financial responsibility center within a large state University matrix; the creation and launch of a full clinical service line; and programmatic multidisciplinary research initiatives with an emphasis on building upon academic strengths bridging multiple schools and institutes.

At the University of Kentucky, he is leading efforts at state-wide campus expansions, new educational and research initiatives, executive leadership within the healthcare system and academic activities of the College of Medicine and the University.