Sumanta Kumar Pal, M.D.
Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research
Co-director, Kidney Cancer Program

Sumanta Kumar Pal, M.D., is an assistant professor in the Department of Medical Oncology & Therapeutics Research and co-director of the Kidney Cancer Program at City of Hope. Having been appointed to the faculty for just over one year, Pal has been extremely productive, writing for more than 40 peer-reviewed publications.

Pal began his college career at the age of 13 through the California State University, Los Angeles Early Entrance Program. He began medical school at the age of 17 at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), where he developed an immediate interest in cancer research. Working in the laboratory of Dennis Slamon, M.D., Ph.D., Pal examined the breast cancer drug trastuzumab, performing laboratory-based studies to elucidate mechanisms of resistance to the agent. He continued this work during the course of his residency training at UCLA.

After completing his residency, Pal transitioned to City of Hope where he trained under Robert Figlin, M.D., developing clinical trials and translational studies for genitourinary cancer, principally in the domain of renal cell carcinoma and prostate cancer. He has garnered numerous awards to support his work, including grants from the California Breast Cancer Research Program, the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and the National Institutes of Health.