John D'Orazio, MD, PhD

r. D’Orazio is a Professor of Pediatrics and Chief of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology at the University of Kentucky. Dr. D’Orazio actively treats pediatric patients with cancer and blood diseases, and has a basic science research laboratory in the Markey Cancer Center. He earned MD and PhD degrees from the University of Miami before joining the pediatric residency program at Massachusetts General Hospital. After a year as Pediatric Chief Resident, Dr. D’Orazio joined the Hematology and Oncology Fellowship Program at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. His post-doctoral research work with Dr. David Fisher (Harvard Medical School) focused on the role of pigmentation in melanoma risk. He joined the University of Kentucky in 2004. His research focuses on inherited cancer syndromes that affect children and young adults. His laboratory focuses on the melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) which is a major determinant of lifetime melanoma risk, as well as DNA damage response pathways and cancer.

He received his MD and PhD degrees from the University of Miami School of Medicine, completed a pediatric residency at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, and a fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at Boston Children’s Hospital and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.