W. Roy Smythe
Encyclopedia
W. Roy Smythe is Professor with Tenure and Chairman of Surgery for the Scott & White Memorial Hospital
and Health System and the Texas A&M Health Science Center
College of Medicine. He also holds the Glen and Rita K. Roney Endowed Chair in Surgery
. He is a surgeon and one of the first biomedical research
ers to investigate the use of adenoviral based gene therapy
for cancer
.
Smythe grew up in Belton, Texas
where he was a National Merit Scholarship recipient and an all-state football and track
athlete. He attended Baylor University
on combined athletic and academic scholarships and lettered on the 1980 Southwest Conference
champion football
team coached by Grant Teaff
.
Smythe attended the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine
, where he received the Helen Salyer Anderson Award as the Outstanding Graduating Medical Student for Academic Achievement, along with Outstanding Student in Surgery and Psychiatry awards.
Following medical school, Smythe completed a categorical General Surgery residency
at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
in Philadelphia
part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System
. While training there, he worked in the first laboratory in the country to use a common cold virus, the adenovirus, to transfer genes to treat cancer, and was the lead author on the first paper describing the use of adenoviral based gene therapy to treat cancer models in the laboratory (Cancer Research
, April 1994 15;54(8):2055-9). This work became the basis for one of the world's first human gene therapy trials for cancer and the world's first for pleural mesothelioma, a lung cancer
related to asbestos
exposure.
Smythe then completed a residency in Cardiothoracic surgery
. While at the University of Pennsylvania, he won the Jonathan Rhoads Award for Research and the William Inouye Award for medical student teaching, along with several other teaching awards and the Philadelphia County Medical Society Award for Humaneness in Medicine.
He was a faculty member at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas
before coming to Scott & White Memorial Hospital
and Texas A&M University
. There he won the Institutional Physician Scientist Award and achieved the award of tenure from the University of Texas System
.
Smythe serves as a Medical Trustee on the Scott & White Health System Board of Trustees, chaired by Drayton McLane, Jr.
Following the Fort Hood shooting incident in November 2010, Smythe was the national media spokesperson for the Level 1 Trauma Center at Scott & White, where many of the most seriously wounded were successfully treated.
Dr. Smythe has been named to Best Doctors in America every year since 2003, and has been named by Castle-Connolly as a U.S. Top Doctor for Cancer since 2009, an "America's Top Surgeon" by the Consumers Research Council in 2010, and a U.S. Top Doctor by Castle-Connolly and USA Today since 2010. He recently received the Julius A. Mackie Distinguished Graduate Award from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Department of Surgery.
He is married and has four children, three sons and a daughter.
Scott & White Memorial Hospital
Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Bell County, Texas, was founded in 1897, when Dr. Arthur C. Scott and Dr. Raleigh R. White, Jr., opened the Temple Sanitarium in Temple, Texas. Caring for the heart of Texas between Dallas and Austin, Scott & White, with more than 800 physicians and scientists, is...
and Health System and the Texas A&M Health Science Center
Texas A&M Health Science Center
The Texas A&M Health Science Center, a component of the Texas A&M University System, is an assembly of colleges devoted to educating health professionals and researchers of competence and integrity...
College of Medicine. He also holds the Glen and Rita K. Roney Endowed Chair in Surgery
Surgery
Surgery is an ancient medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, or to help improve bodily function or appearance.An act of performing surgery may be called a surgical...
. He is a surgeon and one of the first biomedical research
Biomedical research
Biomedical research , in general simply known as medical research, is the basic research, applied research, or translational research conducted to aid and support the body of knowledge in the field of medicine...
ers to investigate the use of adenoviral based gene therapy
Gene therapy
Gene therapy is the insertion, alteration, or removal of genes within an individual's cells and biological tissues to treat disease. It is a technique for correcting defective genes that are responsible for disease development...
for cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
.
Smythe grew up in Belton, Texas
Belton, Texas
Belton is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. The population was 14,623 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Bell County.Belton is part of the Killeen – Temple – Fort Hood metropolitan area.-Geography:...
where he was a National Merit Scholarship recipient and an all-state football and track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
athlete. He attended Baylor University
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
on combined athletic and academic scholarships and lettered on the 1980 Southwest Conference
Southwest Athletic Conference
The Southwest Conference was a college athletic conference in the United States from 1914 to 1996. It consisted of schools mostly in the state of Texas and one in Arkansas, with historical members in Oklahoma....
champion football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
team coached by Grant Teaff
Grant Teaff
Grant Garland Teaff is a former American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at McMurry University , Angelo State University , and Baylor University , compiling a career college football record of 170–151–8...
.
Smythe attended the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine
Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine
The Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine was established in 1977 and joined the Health Science Center in 1999. Thomas "Sam" Shomaker, M.D., J.D., began as the sixth dean of the College of Medicine on August 1, 2010....
, where he received the Helen Salyer Anderson Award as the Outstanding Graduating Medical Student for Academic Achievement, along with Outstanding Student in Surgery and Psychiatry awards.
Following medical school, Smythe completed a categorical General Surgery residency
Residency (medicine)
Residency is a stage of graduate medical training. A resident physician or resident is a person who has received a medical degree , Podiatric degree , Dental Degree and who practices...
at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania
University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
in Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
part of the University of Pennsylvania Health System
University of Pennsylvania Health System
The University of Pennsylvania Health System is a diverse research and clinical care organization in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1993, it currently operates under the direction and auspices of Penn Medicine, a division of the University of Pennsylvania...
. While training there, he worked in the first laboratory in the country to use a common cold virus, the adenovirus, to transfer genes to treat cancer, and was the lead author on the first paper describing the use of adenoviral based gene therapy to treat cancer models in the laboratory (Cancer Research
Cancer Research (journal)
Cancer Research is a scientific journal published by the American Association for Cancer Research. Its focus is original research papers relating to cancer and cancer-related biomedical sciences. The first edition was published in 1941.-Indexing:...
, April 1994 15;54(8):2055-9). This work became the basis for one of the world's first human gene therapy trials for cancer and the world's first for pleural mesothelioma, a lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
related to asbestos
Asbestos
Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...
exposure.
Smythe then completed a residency in Cardiothoracic surgery
Cardiothoracic Surgery
Cardiothoracic surgery is the field of medicine involved in surgical treatment of diseases affecting organs inside the thorax —generally treatment of conditions of the heart and lungs .-Cardiac / Thoracic:...
. While at the University of Pennsylvania, he won the Jonathan Rhoads Award for Research and the William Inouye Award for medical student teaching, along with several other teaching awards and the Philadelphia County Medical Society Award for Humaneness in Medicine.
He was a faculty member at the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
before coming to Scott & White Memorial Hospital
Scott & White Memorial Hospital
Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Bell County, Texas, was founded in 1897, when Dr. Arthur C. Scott and Dr. Raleigh R. White, Jr., opened the Temple Sanitarium in Temple, Texas. Caring for the heart of Texas between Dallas and Austin, Scott & White, with more than 800 physicians and scientists, is...
and Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
. There he won the Institutional Physician Scientist Award and achieved the award of tenure from the University of Texas System
University of Texas System
The University of Texas System encompasses 15 educational institutions in Texas, of which nine are academic universities and six are health institutions. The system is headquartered in Austin and has a total enrollment of over 190,000 students...
.
Smythe serves as a Medical Trustee on the Scott & White Health System Board of Trustees, chaired by Drayton McLane, Jr.
Following the Fort Hood shooting incident in November 2010, Smythe was the national media spokesperson for the Level 1 Trauma Center at Scott & White, where many of the most seriously wounded were successfully treated.
Dr. Smythe has been named to Best Doctors in America every year since 2003, and has been named by Castle-Connolly as a U.S. Top Doctor for Cancer since 2009, an "America's Top Surgeon" by the Consumers Research Council in 2010, and a U.S. Top Doctor by Castle-Connolly and USA Today since 2010. He recently received the Julius A. Mackie Distinguished Graduate Award from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Department of Surgery.
He is married and has four children, three sons and a daughter.