Dr. Raphael Pollock, MD, PhD

Raphael Pollock, MD, PhD was born in Chicago, IL where he received his primary and secondary school education. Dr. Pollock graduated from Oberlin College in 1972 with a BA in History (high honors). He received his MD degree from St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri and then completed residency training in General Surgery at the University of Chicago and Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke’s Medical Center, Chicago, Illinois. This was followed by a fellowship in Surgical Oncology at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas. Upon completion of fellowship training in 1984, Dr. Pollock joined the faculty in the Department of Surgical Oncology at The University of Texas. He completed PhD training at the Graduate School of the Biological Sciences, University of Texas Health Sciences Center / Houston in 1990, and was promoted to Associate Professor the following year.Dr. Pollock became Chairman of the Department of Surgical Oncology in 1993, was promoted to Professor in 1995, and became Head of the Division of Surgery at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in 1997.

Dr. Pollock has a lifetime professional dedication to patient care and research in soft tissue sarcoma. His clinical practice focuses exclusively on this disease entity, and he has pursued clinical and laboratory research interests in soft tissue sarcoma during the entire time that he has been a member of the faculty of the Department of Surgical Oncology. Currently Dr. Pollock provides leadership for the Sarcoma Research Center at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. His laboratory research interests include molecular-oriented tissue- and cell line-based investigations focusing on the role of the p53 tumor suppressor gene in soft tissue sarcoma, modulation of angiogenesis in soft tissue sarcoma, mechanisms of soft tissue sarcoma chemoresistance, as well as the development of novel therapeutics for this disease. Dr. Pollock is the incumbent in the Senator A.M. Aiken, Jr., Distinguished Chair, and holds joint appointments in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Oncology at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer and the Department of Surgery at The University of Texas Health Sciences Center/ Houston.