Kevin Camphausen, MD

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Get to know Radiation Oncologist Dr. Kevin A. Camphausen, who serves patients in Bethesda, Maryland.

A skilled radiation oncologist, Dr. Camphausen serves as the Chief of the Radiation Oncology Branch and Acting Chief of the Surgical Oncology Program at the National Cancer Institute Center for Cancer Research. He studies the interaction of novel drugs and radiotherapy in the treatment of Glioblastoma Multiforme in the laboratory using preclinical model systems and in the clinic running clinical trials. His areas of clinical expertise include radiotherapy, glioblastoma multiforme, HDAC, radiation sensitizers, biomarkers, and prostate cancer.

As Chief, he guides the Branch’s clinical/translational program, which studies the role of new agents as both radiation sensitizers and radiation protectors. The integration of novel imaging, molecular profiling and state of the art treatment techniques keeps the Branch at the forefront of Radiation Oncology.

Educated in the United States, Dr. Camphausen received his medical degree from Georgetown University in 1996. He completed his internship at Georgetown University in 1997, and his residency in radiation oncology at the Joint Center for Radiation Therapy at Harvard Medical School in 2001.

An expert in his field, the doctor is board-certified in radiation oncology by the American Board of Radiology (ABR). The ABR is a not-for-profit physician-led organization that oversees the certification and ongoing professional development of specialists in diagnostic radiology, interventional radiology, radiation oncology, and medical physics.

In his professional experience, he spent two years working in the laboratory of Dr. Judah Folkman studying the interaction of angiogenesis inhibitors and radiotherapy. He joined the National Cancer Institute in July 2001 as a tenure-track investigator. He served as the Deputy Branch Chief beginning in April 2004 and was appointed Branch Chief of the Radiation Oncology Branch in 2008.

Radiation oncology is a medical specialty that involves the controlled use of radiation to treat cancer. It is one of the three primary specialties – the other two being surgical and medical oncology – involved in the treatment of cancer. A radiation oncologist is a specialist physician who uses ionizing radiation in the treatment of cancer.

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