Ronald A. DePinho, M.D. is the past president and distinguished university professor at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. He studied biology at Fordham University, received his M.D. degree with distinction from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and performed his residency and postdoctoral training at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center. His research career began at Einstein as the Feinberg Senior Faculty Scholar in Cancer Research and an ACS Research Professor. He then joined the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School where he was the founding Director of the Belfer Institute for Applied Cancer Science. During his 6-year tenure as MD Anderson’s president, Dr. DePinho conceived and launched the Cancer Moon Shots Program, recruited many world-class faculty including its first Nobel, and expanded its global network to reach one-third of the human population.His research program has made fundamental contributions to our understanding of cancer, aging, and degenerative disorders, and these discoveries have led to clinical advances. He is a leader in the development and use of genetically engineered mouse models for various human cancers including colorectal cancer, pancreas, prostate, GBM, MDS, myeloma, and melanoma. His laboratory defined the role of telomeres and telomerase in cancer, aging, and Alzheimer’s Disease. For his contributions to science and healthcare, Dr. DePinho has received the AACR Clowes Memorial Award, the Albert Szent-Gyorgyi Prize, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, Portugal’s Order of Saint James of the Sword, among other awards and honors. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Science, and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Association of the Advancement of Science, and the American Association of Cancer Research.