Dr. Kekoa Taparra is a board-certified physician and 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 with 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. Having witnessed the impact of cancer within his own family, Dr. Taparra is committed to providing patients with the same compassion and care that his relatives received.

As a physician-scientist, Dr. Taparra integrates basic science, clinical medicine, and public health concepts into his research to address issues across the cancer care continuum. He co-authored over 90 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.