Kekoa Taparra, MD, PhD, MPH

Dr. Kekoa Taparra is a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Radiation Oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine and Health Policy and Management at the Fielding School of Public Health at UCLA. Dr. Taparra completed his residency, chief residency year, and postdoctoral medical fellowship in Radiation Oncology at Stanford University, where he trained under national leaders in the field. At UCLA Health, he specializes in the treatment of genitourinary malignancies, including prostate cancer.

Dr. Taparra earned his PhD at Johns Hopkins, where he studied novel sugar metabolism pathways in lung cancer, supported by an NIH NCI F31 Award. He earned his MD at Mayo Clinic and graduated with a certification in the Science of Health Care Delivery. He then completed his MPH at Hawaiʻi Pacific University. As a physician-scientist, Dr. Taparra integrates basic science, clinical medicine, and public health concepts into his interdisciplinary research to address a diverse set of issues across the cancer care continuum.

Dr. Taparra has co-authored over 80 peer-reviewed publications in journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, and JAMA. His research has been supported by organizations, including ASCO, ASTRO, ASH, and AACR. He received the inaugural ASCO Conquer Cancer Foundation Endowed Dr. Judith and Alan Kaur Young Investigator Award. While at Stanford, he was awarded the Radiological Society of North America Roentgen Research Award in his chief year of residency.

Outside of clinical and professional duties, Dr. Taparra is a former college swimmer, previously setting multiple records on the state, regional, and college levels. He trains as a member of the UCLA Bruins US Masters Swim Team. Being born and raised in Hawaiʻi, he enjoys the outdoors of Southern California’s coastal and mountainous terrains.