Robert MD

I am Professor and Division Head of Internal Medicine, and also a Professor of Medicine and Cell Biology at Baylor College of Medicine. My primary clinical interests have been in treatment of patients with hereditary and sporadic forms of medullary thyroid carcinoma. My involvement with this disorder has spanned several decades from the initial development of calcitonin as a biomarker, through the identification and use of RET germline mutations in prophylactic surgery, to the recent establishment of vandetanib as the first FDA approved drug for the treatment of disseminated tumor.

My research group is currently examining molecular abnormalities of medullary thyroid carcinoma with a particular interest in cell cycle regulation and regulation of receptor tyrosine kinases . I also have a focused interest in the areas of metabolic bone disease, including osteoporosis and hypercalcemia, and the biology of calcitonin and calcitonin gene-related peptide. I serve as the Co-Director of the Rolanette and Berdon Lawrence Bone Disease Program of Texas at M.D. Anderson. My leadership in medicine and large programs will be an essential component of this application.