Dan Theodorescu, MD, PhD
Clinical Professor, Surgery-Urology

Distinguished Professor Surgery-Urology
Director, University of Colorado Comprehensive Cancer Center
Co-Editor in Chief, Bladder Cancer
Distinguished Professor - Pharmacology
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Gender: Male
Languages: English
Department, Section/Division: Surgery-Urology
Pharmacology

Practice Locations

Hospital Affiliation
  • University of Colorado Hospital
Center Affiliations

Specialty Information

Specialties
  • Urology, Board Certification (1999,2007)
Clinical Interest for Patients
I have suspended my clinical practice in order to focus on research and administration of the cancer center

Education & Training

Medical Schools:
  • MD, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada (1986)

Graduate Schools:
  • PhD, University of Toronto (1993)

Internships:
  • University of Toronto (1987)

Residency Program:
  • University of Toronto, Urology (1994)

Fellowships:
  • Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Program, Urology (1995)

Recognition & Awards

  • Barringer Medal for Outstanding Contributions, American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons (AAGUS) (2015)
  • Elected, National Academy of Medicine (NAM) (2014)
  • Elected, Elected to American Surgical Association (ASA) (2012)
  • Inventor of the Year, University of Colorado (2011)
  • Professor Emeritus, Department of Urology, University of Virginia (2010)
  • Elected, American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons (AAGUS) (2008)
  • Elected, American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI) (2006)
  • Resident Teaching Award, Department of Urology, University of Virginia (1999)
  • Edwin Beer Award , New York Academy of Medicine (1998)
  • Young Investigator Award , Society for Basic Urologic Research (1998)
  • Kimmel Foundation Scholar, Kimmel Foundation (1997)

Professional Memberships

  • American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), Member
  • American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons (AAGUS), Elected Member
  • American College of Surgeons (ACS), Member
  • American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), Elected Member
  • American Society for Clinical Oncology (ASCO), Member
  • American Surgical Association (ASA), Elected Member
  • American Urological Association (AUA), Member
  • National Academy of Medicine (NAM), Elected Member
  • Society for Basic Urologic Research (SBUR), Member
  • Society for Urologic Oncology (SUO), Member

Research & Grants

Research interests for Patients:
Working on a disease that has seen few advances in the last 30 years, Theodorescu has emerged as a leading translational bladder cancer researcher. Theodorescu is known for his work on the molecular mechanisms underlying bladder cancer and tools that determine drug response as well as discovery of new drugs for several cancer types. Examples include discovery of genes that regulate tumor growth and metastasis (RhoGDI2, CD24, AGL, GON4L) in bladder and other cancers and novel biomarkers (DNA/NGS, RNA and proteomic) and concepts for precision therapeutic approaches such as the COXEN principle, that are currently being tested in national (SWOG) clinical trials. He led the discovery and development of a “first in class” RalGTPase inhibitor as a new therapeutic in several human cancer types which is now in commercial development. Recent efforts in our lab have focused on understanding the biology of Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) and using that knowledge to develop novel inhibitors to this critical protein in cancer. Finally, active efforts are currently aimed at identifying immune system agonists or antagonists that modulate tumor behavior in vivo as well as the identification of novel combination therapies that enhance the effectiveness of checkpoint and other immunotherapy.

Information for Referring Providers

Clinical Interests for Referring Providers
I have suspended my clinical practice in order to focus on research and administration of the cancer center

Research Interest for Referring Providers
Working on a disease that has seen few advances in the last 30 years, Theodorescu has emerged as a leading translational bladder cancer researcher. Theodorescu is known for his work on the molecular mechanisms underlying bladder cancer and tools that determine drug response as well as discovery of new drugs for several cancer types. Examples include discovery of genes that regulate tumor growth and metastasis (RhoGDI2, CD24, AGL, GON4L) in bladder and other cancers and novel biomarkers (DNA/NGS, RNA and proteomic) and concepts for precision therapeutic approaches such as the COXEN principle, that are currently being tested in national (SWOG) clinical trials. He led the discovery and development of a “first in class” RalGTPase inhibitor as a new therapeutic in several human cancer types which is now in commercial development. Recent efforts in our lab have focused on understanding the biology of Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) and using that knowledge to develop novel inhibitors to this critical protein in cancer. Finally, active efforts are currently aimed at identifying immune system agonists or antagonists that modulate tumor behavior in vivo as well as the identification of novel combination therapies that enhance the effectiveness of checkpoint and other immunotherapy.