Dr. David Rice
Recognized internationally, Dr. David Rice is an award-winning surgeon and associate professor of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center who is a member of an executive committee on Minimally Invasive and New Technologies in Oncologic Surgery. Originally from Dublin, Rice trained at Ireland's Trinity College and the prestigious Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Rice now specializes in treating malignant pleural mesothelioma using supplementary therapies and minimally invasive surgical methods, offering lectures on the benefits of these treatments.
In fact, over the years, Rice has been involved in nearly two dozen peer-review studies and clinical trials. His current work in these areas includes a phase II trial investigating the effectiveness of extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) lung surgery that is followed by intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), a treatment that focuses x-rays on the affected area. He is also working on a clinical trial studying chemotherapy medications Alimta and Cisplatin that are followed by lung surgery and IMRT.
Awards
Upon completing his training at Trinity College, Rice won the Arthur Ball Memorial Prize in surgery in 1991 and has gone on to win many awards for his achievements and clinical studies. In the United States, Rice completed a surgical residency at the Baylor College of Medicine and the University of Texas Cancer Center, where he is currently employed. Rice also completed an advanced fellowship in thoracic surgery at the Mayo Clinic. In addition, Rice has received several awards for his international academic studies and internships, including a resident teaching award from the University of Texas where he has been a surgeon and assistant professor since 2001.
Professional Accomplishments
As one the nation's top thoracic surgeons, Rice currently oversees programs at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, one of the best cancer centers in the United States. He is the director of the facility's Mesothelioma Surgery Program and its Minimally Invasive Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Program. Rice also co-directs the departmental database for thoracic and cardiovascular surgery.
Given his research in minimally invasive treatment methods, Rice has improved staging methods, spearheading efforts to revise the international cancer stating system for patients with pleural mesothelioma. In addition, he was the first surgeon at the Anderson Cancer Center to perform a minimally invasive esophagectomy and regularly performs lobectomies and extrapleural pneumonectomy (EPP) surgeries. Rice was the first clinical practitioner trained to use endobronchial ultrasound for staging lung cancer as well.
