Full Name
Dineo Khabele, MD
Company
Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis
Speaker Bio
Dr. Khabele is a highly accomplished physician-scientist and leader in the field of gynecologic oncology. She embodies inspirational leadership in medicine and science driven by her vision and mission to deliver inclusion, diversity and excellence in clinical service, research, education,
and community engagement. She not only leads cutting-edge translational research, she continues to provide high quality clinical care, while advancing the next generation of clinicians and scientists from diverse backgrounds. Her ability to move research generated in her own laboratory to a Phase I/II clinical trial is not common and speaks to the scientific rigor and quality of her work. She has also developed tissue biorepositories of de-identified clinically annotated tissue samples and patient-derived xenograft models to validate molecular biomarkers. Her innovative research program focuses on the problem of chemotherapy-resistant tumors that are least likely to respond to any known therapy. She has made seminal contributions to science in the following areas: 1) investigation of epigenetic drugs as chemosensitizing agents in ovarian cancer, 2) the role of histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) inhibition in genomic instability, DNA damage, and replicative stress, and 3) targeting inflammatory pathways in ovarian cancer. She is well recognized as a collaborative leader with an entrepreneurial mindset as she has pioneered clinical and research programs at multiple academic medical centers. Dr. Khabele serves on multiple medical and scientific advisory boards and serves as a peer-reviewer for a range of women’s health, cancer, and basic science journals. She has presented her work at national and international meetings and is a sought-after speaker. In recognition of her scientific achievements, she was inducted into the American Society of Clinical Investigation in 2019 and the Association of American Physicians (AAP) in 2024.
Dr. Khabele is dedicated to paying it forward by training the next generation of physicians and scientists to bridge gaps between scientific advances and implementation, and she founded the first accredited gynecologic oncology fellowship in the state of Kansas. Her advocacy research and work focuses on reducing health disparities and promoting health equity in medicine and science. She serves on multiple medical and scientific advisory boards, including the National Institutes of Health, the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, and the Foundation for Women’s Cancer. Her work as Chair of the Healthcare Disparities and Health Equity Committee and a member of the Executive Committee for the Society of Black Academic Surgeons has focused on increasing the number of Black/African-American physicians and scientists as a strategy to for achieving health equity for all. She is firmly committed to mentorship/sponsorship of people who have been marginalized in medicine and science, particularly those with interests in women’s health, women’s cancers, and health equity.
and community engagement. She not only leads cutting-edge translational research, she continues to provide high quality clinical care, while advancing the next generation of clinicians and scientists from diverse backgrounds. Her ability to move research generated in her own laboratory to a Phase I/II clinical trial is not common and speaks to the scientific rigor and quality of her work. She has also developed tissue biorepositories of de-identified clinically annotated tissue samples and patient-derived xenograft models to validate molecular biomarkers. Her innovative research program focuses on the problem of chemotherapy-resistant tumors that are least likely to respond to any known therapy. She has made seminal contributions to science in the following areas: 1) investigation of epigenetic drugs as chemosensitizing agents in ovarian cancer, 2) the role of histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) inhibition in genomic instability, DNA damage, and replicative stress, and 3) targeting inflammatory pathways in ovarian cancer. She is well recognized as a collaborative leader with an entrepreneurial mindset as she has pioneered clinical and research programs at multiple academic medical centers. Dr. Khabele serves on multiple medical and scientific advisory boards and serves as a peer-reviewer for a range of women’s health, cancer, and basic science journals. She has presented her work at national and international meetings and is a sought-after speaker. In recognition of her scientific achievements, she was inducted into the American Society of Clinical Investigation in 2019 and the Association of American Physicians (AAP) in 2024.
Dr. Khabele is dedicated to paying it forward by training the next generation of physicians and scientists to bridge gaps between scientific advances and implementation, and she founded the first accredited gynecologic oncology fellowship in the state of Kansas. Her advocacy research and work focuses on reducing health disparities and promoting health equity in medicine and science. She serves on multiple medical and scientific advisory boards, including the National Institutes of Health, the Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance, and the Foundation for Women’s Cancer. Her work as Chair of the Healthcare Disparities and Health Equity Committee and a member of the Executive Committee for the Society of Black Academic Surgeons has focused on increasing the number of Black/African-American physicians and scientists as a strategy to for achieving health equity for all. She is firmly committed to mentorship/sponsorship of people who have been marginalized in medicine and science, particularly those with interests in women’s health, women’s cancers, and health equity.
