Dr. Roberto Diaz, MD, PhD

Dr. Roberto Diaz graduated summa cum laude from Manhattanville College with a degree in chemistry. He earned his MS, PhD, and MD degrees from New York University School of Medicine where he completed the medical scientist training program with an emphasis on molecular oncology. After graduating, he spent his first year of residency in Internal Medicine at Yale University's Griffin Hospital. At Griffin, he was voted best first-year resident by the nursing staff. He then completed his training in Radiation Oncology at Vanderbilt University where he served as chief resident in his final year. Dr. Diaz is board certified in Radiation Oncology and is the Breast Section Chief in the Department of Radiation Oncology at Moffitt Cancer Center. His current academic appointment is Associate Professor at the University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, in the Department of Oncologic Sciences, College of Medicine. His professional memberships include the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), Christian Medical and Dental Associations (CMDA), and the Latin American Association of Radiation Oncology (ALATRO).  Dr. Diaz has research interests both in translational and clinical breast cancer. His research has included discovery of biomarkers for metastatic breast cancer, targeted drug delivery, and novel radiosensitizers in Phase I clinical trials. During his time as a Holman Pathway resident at Vanderbilt, he was awarded grants from the Department of Defense, ASTRO, and the RSNA. For his work, he has won numerous national awards including the Resident Basic Science Research Award from ASTRO and the RSNA Roentgen Resident/Fellow Research Award [2008].  Dr. Diaz has authored and co-authored over 30 scientific articles for publication in international and national peer-reviewed journals like Nature Medicine and Cancer Research. In addition, Dr. Diaz has presented at numerous international and national research meetings, including at the European Society for Radiotherapy & Oncology (ESTRO), as well as annual meetings of ASTRO and AACR. He has been invited as a visiting professor to the Republic of Macedonia to conduct training of local physicians in oncology and to improve their national breast cancer screening and treatment guidelines. Dr. Diaz has participated in televised interviews with CNN en Español as well as Univisión Tampa, on topics ranging from the effects of radiation on humans to cancer screening recommendations for women:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eppKgV2_Lsk One of his greatest passions is medical missions. Dr. Diaz has worked in prisons in Ecuador and Peru; villages in Honduras and El Salvador; as well as in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. One of his greatest joys is mentoring students and resident physicians. Dr. Diaz's past mentees have gone on to successful careers in medicine and research with numerous publications and honors in the fields of radiation oncology and cancer biology. Originally from the Dominican Republic, Dr. Diaz is fluent in both Spanish and English. Prior to working at Moffitt Cancer Center, he has lived in Santo Domingo, Manhattan, Atlanta and Nashville.