Dr. Roy A. Patchell's entire medical career has been devoted to patient oriented clinical Neuro-Oncology research. He completed a residency in Neurology at Johns Hopkins and a fellowship in clinical Neuro Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He then came to the University of Kentucky and ha developed a comprehensive clinical Neuro-Oncology research program. This has involved the development of numerous clinical trials investigating the treatment of metastatic and primary brain tumors. On all of these studies, Dr. Patchell has been the principal investigator. He has had continuous extramural funding since 1986 and continuous RO1 NIH funding since 1988 and has a currently funded RO1 grant. All of his RO1 funding has been for clinical Neuro-Oncology trials. In addition to past and currently ongoing clinical trials assessing the effects of commonly available therapies for cancers of the nervous system, Dr. Patchell has invented an implantable, refillable, sustained-release device for the delivery of intratumoral chemotherapy for primary brain tumors. This device is currently being used in several phase I and phase II trials designed by Dr. Patchell, and one study has become a national trial under the auspices of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG). Dr. Patchell is continuing to collaborate with basic scientists at the University of Kentucky to investigate further uses of the device, including use with non-conventional agents such as anti-angiogenesis factors, biological response modifiers, radiation cell sensitizers, and other compounds. Dr. Patchell has a strong record of actively mentoring budding clinical investigators including residents, fellows, and junior faculty members at the University of Kentucky. In 1995, he established a Neuro-Oncology Fellowship Training Program and is currently training Neuro-Oncology Fellows. Dr. Patchell's careers goals include obtaining additional external funding so that he can expand the Neuro-Oncology Fellowship training program and continue to devote the majority of his time to mentoring his Neuro-Oncology Fellows and to developing new treatments for primary and metastatic brain tumors.
