Dr. DePinho was born in the Bronx, N.Y., in 1955. He earned a bachelor’s degree in biological sciences in 1977 from Fordham University, where he graduated summa cum laude as class salutatorian. He received his medical degree with distinction in microbiology and immunology in 1981 from Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

He completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center, followed by postdoctoral fellowships in the Department of Cell Biology at Einstein and in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Columbia-Presbyterian.

Prior to joining MD Anderson, DePinho spent 14 years at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School in Boston. Founding director of the Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science at Dana-Farber,he served as a professor in the Department of Medicine (genetics) at Harvard and was an American Cancer Society Research Professor. Previously, he held numerous faculty positions during 10 years at Einstein.

DePinho’s independent scientific career began at Einstein, where he was the Feinberg Senior Scholar in Cancer Research. There, he established the first National Cancer Institute-supported shared transgenic and gene targeting facility, which enabled his laboratory and many other researchers to model and study the genetic basis of cancer and other complex diseases.

In addition to his presidential duties at MD Anderson, DePinho remains an active scientist in his laboratory and in the Institute for Applied Cancer Science. His lab focuses mainly on basic-to-translational research programs for brain, colorectal, pancreas and prostate cancers, as well as aging and neuro-degeneration.

Honors

DePinho is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for Cancer Research Academy, and has received numerous other honors and awards including:

• American Italian Cancer Foundation Prize for Scientific Excellence in Medicine, 2012
• Albert Szent-Gyorgyi Prize for Progress in Cancer Research, 2009
• Helsinki Medal, 2007
• Albert Einstein College of Medicine Distinguished Alumnus Award, 2004
• American Association for Cancer Research Clowes Memorial Award, 2003
• American Society for Clinical Investigation Award, 2002