Ronald P. DeMatteo, MD, FACS
Ronald P. DeMatteo, MD, FACS, has been named Chair of the Department of Surgery in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He will assume his new post July 1, 2017, and will lead a department that includes 130 faculty across 11 divisions who provide advanced patient care and conduct a robust portfolio of basic science and clinical research.
Dr. DeMatteo is a surgical oncologist who is nationally recognized for his expertise in treating liver, gallbladder, bile duct, and pancreatic diseases, as well as abdominal sarcomas. He joins Penn, where he completed his surgical residency and postdoctoral fellowship, after 20 years at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he most recently served as Vice Chair of the Department of Surgery and Head of the Division of General Surgical Oncology. He is also Professor of Surgery and Associate Dean at Weill Medical College of Cornell University.
Research Interests
Over the course of his career, Dr. DeMatteo has made significant research advances in the development of therapies to help prevent tumors from returning after surgery. He has served as the principal investigator on three national trials of the adjuvant drug imatinib following surgery to remove gastrointestinal stromal tumors, leading to its approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and a new standard of care for the disease.
His research has been supported by $17 million in funding, including several grants from the National Institutes of Health and generous gifts from patients and philanthropic foundations. A well-respected educator, Dr. DeMatteo was Director of the Surgical Oncology Fellowship Program for 7 years and has mentored more than 135 clinical and laboratory fellows.
Dr. DeMatteo earned his medical degree from the Weill Medical College of Cornell University. ■
