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James W. Rocco, MD, PhD

Chair of Otolaryngology-HNS
The OSU Wexner Medical Center
Columbus, OH, United States

James W. Rocco, MD, PhD, FACS, is a surgeon-scientist in head and neck oncology. He is Professor and Chair of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, holds the Mary E. and John W. Alford Research Chair in Head and Neck Cancer, and directs the Head and Neck Disease-Specific Research Group at the OSU Comprehensive Cancer Center–James Cancer Hospital.

Trained in the NIH Medical Scientist Training Program at Mount Sinai, Dr. Rocco completed residency at Johns Hopkins before joining Harvard Medical School in 1999, where he held the Daniel Miller Chair and led research at Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Massachusetts General Hospital. Recruited to Ohio State in 2015 to expand clinical and translational programs, he also served as Interim Dean of the College of Medicine (2019-2020).

His NIH-funded laboratory dissects genetic progression and intratumor heterogeneity in squamous cell carcinoma to discover biomarkers and mechanisms of resistance. He leads multiple NCI grants and oversees a tissue core producing patient-derived xenograft models and cell lines. Findings appear in Nature Cancer, Cancer Cell, JCO, and Oral Oncology and have been featured in the Wall Street Journal and Nature.

Dr. Rocco has shaped national practice as expert to the NCI Head and Neck Steering Committee, College of American Pathologists HPV task force, ASTRO Oropharyngeal Panel, NCCN Guidelines Panel, and NRG CORE Committee, and twice co-chaired the NCI Task Force on Recurrent and Metastatic Disease. Within the American Head and Neck Society he chairs the Foundation Board, previously led the Research Committee, and serves on the Executive Council. He is Associate Editor for Head and Neck and Oral Oncology.

A dedicated mentor, he has guided more than 50 residents, fellows, and postdocs—many now leaders—advancing his mission to unite discovery with patient-centered care and cultivate the next generation of surgeon-scientists.

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