Robert Bachoo, M.D., Ph.D.
Titles and Appointments
Associate Professor
- Endowed Title
- Miller Family Professorship in Neuro-Oncology
- School
- Medical School
- Department
- Neurology | Internal Medicine
- Graduate Programs
- Cancer Biology
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Joined UT Southwestern: 2006
Dr. Robert Bachoo is a physician-scientist in the Department of Neurology and holds joint appointments in the Department of Internal Medicine and the Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center.
Research: He leads the Neuro-Oncology Translational Laboratory in the Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, coordinating multidisciplinary basic, translational, and clinical brain tumor-related research. Dr. Bachoo’s research focuses on understanding the fundamental mechanisms that drive malignant brain tumors. A major emphasis of his work is developing accurate models of brain tumors, which include using genetically engineered mouse glioma models (GEMMs) as well as patient-derived xenograft (PDX) models from patients undergoing surgical resection of their tumor at UT Southwestern. His laboratory has generated one of the largest collections of brain tumor PDX models in the country and has pioneered the intra-operative metabolic tracer studies in brain tumor patients undergoing surgery for studying tumor metabolism. These clinically and molecularly annotated mouse models serve as critical discovery platforms to understand fundamental mechanisms that drive brain growth and identify potential therapeutic vulnerabilities. Insights gained from the models have contributed to overturning an 80-year-old dogma about how brain tumors fuel their growth as well as identified novel clinical imaging biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets. In addition to fostering multidisciplinary collaborative research at UTSW, Dr. Bachoo has developed strong inter-institutional collaborations with faculty in the Departments of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanical Engineering (UT Arlington and UT Dallas). Together, his research teams use biophysical approaches to understand how brain tumor cells migrate through the brain tissue, a characteristic which makes these tumors surgically incurable. These projects aim to develop novel strategies to safely and reversibly disrupt the blood-brain-barrier for drug delivery.
Dr. Bachoo has authored more than 100 scientific peer-reviewed articles and is reviewer for more than 20 journals. He has served on multiple NIH research study sections, including as a permanent member of the Cellular and Molecular Biology of Glia (CMBG), and on Special Emphasis Panels, including the Cancer Atlas.
Background: Dr. Bachoo received his MD from the University of Toronto (Ontario, Canada) and his PhD from McGill University (Quebec, Canada). He completed his Neurology training at Tufts University, Boston, where he served as the Chief Resident in Neurology. Following his clinical training, he joined Dr. Ronald Depinho’s laboratory at Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard University, Boston, as a post-doctoral research fellow, while serving as a Clinical Instructor in Neurology Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Harvard University. Dr. Bachoo joined as faculty of the Neurology Department at UT Southwestern Medical Center in 2006 and was named the Miller Family Professor in Neuro-Oncology.
