Yu Cao, M.D.

Yu Cao, M.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine at UT Southwestern Medical Center and a member of its Division of Hematology and Oncology. Her clinical interests include head and neck cancers and lung cancers.

Dr. Cao holds a bachelor's degree with honors in neurobiology, and a minor in economics, from Stanford University in California. She earned her medical degree at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York and received internal medicine residency training at Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Ohio. She completed fellowship training in hematology-oncology at City of Hope National Medical Center in California, followed by additional fellowship training in hospice and palliative medicine at Stanford Health Care.

Certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine in internal medicine, medical oncology, hematology, and hospice and palliative medicine, Dr. Cao joined the UT Southwestern faculty in 2024. 

Dr. Cao previously served as an Assistant Professor at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, where she was honored for excellence in teaching and nominated for The Doctor’s Doctor Award for Clinical Excellence, given to Tufts faculty to whom the internal medicine residents would most want to send their family members.

Dr. Cao’s research interests include supportive oncology for older patients with cancer, cultural influences on cancer care, and overcoming cancer care disparities. Her investigations have been published in peer-reviewed journals and she has delivered presentations at conferences.

Dr. Cao a member of several professional societies, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology, the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer, the American Association for Cancer Research, the Cancer and Aging Research Group, and the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine.

In her free time, Dr. Cao finds spaces for reflection. She enjoys exploring libraries, bookstores and walking paths; finding songs, poems, and films that move and heal; and spending time with family and friends.