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Public Profile

Donald O'Rourke, MD
Donald O'Rourke, MD

    Dr. Donald O'Rourke is a member of the Penn Neuro-Oncology Program, the Center for Cancer Pharmacology and the Abramson Cancer Center, at Penn Medicine. Dr. O'Rourke also has a secondary faculty appointment in the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Dr. O'Rourke is also director of the Brain Tumor Tissue Bank at Penn Medicine and directs a genetic testing program for patients with gliomas and oligodendrogliomas that is sponsored by the Abramson Family Cancer Center at Penn.

    Dr. Donald O'Rourke received his undergraduate degree from Harvard University in biochemistry and molecular biology and his medical degree and neurosurgical training at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. He is board certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgery and was previously chief of neurosurgery at the Penn-affiliated Philadelphia Veterans Hospital.

    Dr. O'Rourke is nationally known for his work in the clinical management of patients with primary and metastatic brain tumors, as well as his basic science research into the molecular mechanisms responsible for cell growth, survival and angiogenesis in gliomas. He is well known in the neurosurgical community for his support of the surgical management of patients with brain tumors and in the research community for his contributions to the understanding of brain tumor biology, glial cell growth and response to treatment. By his involvement in The National Institutes of Health, The Joint Tumor Section of The American Association for Neurological Surgeons and The Congress of Neurological Surgeons and the NABTT Brain Tumor Consortium of the NCI, Dr. O'Rourke contributes to state-of-the-art advances in surgical techniques and experimental therapies for brain tumors. His special interest is in how maximal surgery can improve the efficacy of non-surgical biological treatments for brain tumors.

    Dr. O'Rourke is a clinical investigator on numerous Phase I/II clinical trials for gliomas conducted by the University of Pennsylvania and the NABTT Brain Tumor Consortium.  Dr. O'Rourke has been an invited speaker to numerous neurosurgery and cancer research meetings, based on his involvement in the study and treatment of brain tumors. 
     
    Dr. O'Rourke is principal investigator of an independent research laboratory that is funded by The National Institutes of Health and is dedicated to the development of genetic and biological treatments for brain tumors that would complement surgical resection. He is one of only a handful of neurosurgeons nationally who received a five-year independent research grant from the National Cancer Institute for his research on the molecular genetic basis of gliomas. He has received research awards from the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Veterans Affairs, The American Cancer Society, and The Brain Tumor Society. He has published numerous manuscripts and served as both scientific reviewer and editor for several peer-reviewed neurosurgery and cancer research journals and for The National Institutes of Health, with an emphasis on brain tumor biology. 

    Schedule28 Mar 2024