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The UTRGV School of Medicine has welcomed Dr. Everardo Cobos as the chair of the Medicine and Oncology Department.
Cobos, a professor of medicine, also is a director of the Cancer Service Line at UTRGV.
“I’m a physician,” he said. “I’ve been a physician for more than 40 years. I’m a cancer specialist, and I’ve been a cancer specialist for about 35 years. I’ve also been in academic medicine both in Texas Tech School of Medicine, UCLA School of Medicine and now here at UTRGV.”
Cobos is a veteran and completed medical training while also being in the military.
“I did my training in the military, at military academic hospitals at Letterman Army Medical Center in San Francisco and Madigan Army Medical Center in Tacoma, Washington,” he said. “And, I fulfilled my military obligation. … I transitioned into full-time academic medicine at medical schools in the U.S.”
Cobos shared his vision for the future of the oncology department and its role in the School of Medicine.
“I think the Rio Grande Valley is underserved in terms of cancer services and cancer expertise,” he said. “The population has expanded significantly. But, there are still large gaps in cancer care and a lot of patients in our community many times find themselves in a situation where they have to leave the Valley … for care. The fact that UTRGV has made a commitment in cancer, it is important to meet that need.”
Michael B. Hocker, dean of the School of Medicine and senior vice president for UT Health Rio Grande Valley, said the new chair will maintain a strong commitment to patient care, research excellence and medical education.
“When I recruited Dr. Cobos, we had a selection process by which we put the search committee together and recruited,” Hocker said. “I’d say this is one of the … really important chairs to recruit for medicine, as internal medicine is usually one of the strongest departments in the School of Medicine.”
Subhash Chauhan, a School of Medicine professor and founding director of the South Texas Center of Excellence in Cancer Research, said Cobos is not only a physician, but “was actively participating in research and clinical trials.”
“I think he is outstanding at what he does,” Chauhan said.
Cobos will share his role in two departments.
“He’s also equally important because he has a dual role,” Hocker said. “So not only is he overseeing one of our bigger depapartments, he also is a hematologist and oncologist, and he is meeting the efforts and the development of the cancer center we will open in 2024. So, he has two very important roles within our School of Medicine.”
The dean said the selection process took five to six months and explained what stood out about Cobos as a candidate.
“He’s really attractive to our school because he was born and raised on the border,” Hocker said. “He’s practiced and got part of his training within the border. He’s been a huge advocate for border health and understands the challenges that we face in the Rio Grande Valley.”
Cobos wants to ensure the oncology department stays up-to-date with the latest advancements in cancer treatment and research.
“Not only are we teaching, but we are researching new methods on how to treat cancer,” he said. “An academic oncologist wears three hats: They take care of patients using the latest technology and research, they do research themselves and they teach the aspects of cancer care to doctors in our community.
“I think that a lot of people would agree that an academic oncologist is at the forefront of cancer expertise. The fact that we will now have that in the Valley is a step in the right direction.”
Hocker described Cobos as “salt of the earth.”
“And someone you want taking care of you if you were sick whether it was with cancer or internal medicine,” he said. “And I couldn’t be more pleased to have him leading our charge in those efforts.”
A Cancer and Surgery Center is scheduled for completion at a new UTRGV academic campus in McAllen. The building is expected to be completed in late 2024, and the first patient will be provided with outpatient cancer services in January 2025.
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