Theodorescu is the Paul Bunn Professor and Director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of Colorado. He is also Professor of Surgery and Pharmacology and Attending Urologic Oncologist. He received his urological training in the Surgical Scientist Program at the University of Toronto where he also obtained a PhD in molecular and cell biology with Robert Kerbel, an internationally known cancer biologist. He then completed a clinical fellowship in urologic oncology at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Dr. Theodorescu balances his time between a focused clinical practice in urologic oncology with a special interest in bladder and prostate cancer and minimally invasive robotic surgery and a basic and translational oncology laboratory focused on identifying the molecular mechanisms leading to prostate and bladder cancer metastasis and their potential translational applications to patients.

Theodorescu has three significant accomplishments: The first has been the identification of a new metastasis suppressor gene, RhoGDI2, in human cancer. Expression of this gene has also been shown to be an independent prognostic marker for disease specific survival in human bladder cancer. Recent mechanistic studies of this gene have revealed how this gene affects metastatic phenotype and this has resulted in the formulation of a new therapeutic approach to prevent lung metastatic disease. A clinical trial is now in the planning stages for bladder cancer patients at high risk of metastasis development and constitutes a prototypical example of translation of bench to bedside research. The second accomplishment has been the development of COXEN (CO-eXpression ExtrapolatioN) a new strategy aimed at 1) personalizing cancer therapy and 2) identifying which new drugs have a high likelihood of being effective in patients based solely on in vitro assays. Proof of principle implementation of these systems has already yielded excellent prediction of patient outcome in several tumor types as well as new candidate compounds for the treatment of human cancer. Third, recent mass spectrometry based proteomics work has resulted in the discovery of novel urinary biomarkers of bladder and prostate cancer which have been validated in clinical trial and which offer the potential for diagnosis and therapy guidance.

Dr. Theodorescu, is an actively practicing surgeon who has made contributions to prostate brachytherapy and in understanding the quality of life impact of this technique on patients. He has also developed a new modification of the Hautmann orthotopic bladder replacement that facilitates construction of the diversion and future revision. He is the editor for the World Journal of Urology and on the editorial boards of Cancer Letters and Prostate Cancer and Prostatic Diseases. Dr. Theodorescu has been the recipient of scientific awards including Sydney Kimmel Scholar Award, Young Investigator Award from the Society for Basic Urologic Research and Edwin Beer Award from the New York Academy of Medicine. He has recently been elected to the American Association of Genitourinary Surgeons, an association of leading academic urologists.