https://ccr.cancer.gov/staff-directory/marta-penas-prado

Dr. Penas-Prado received her MD degree from Universidad de Santiago de Compostela in Spain. She completed a neurology residency at Hospital Universitario Doce de Octubre, also in Spain, and had the opportunity to be a clinical observer at The University of Texas’s MD Anderson Cancer Center, where she was introduced to the field of neuro-oncology. Shortly thereafter, Dr. Penas-Prado returned to Spain to practice as a neurologist at two different hospitals: Hospital Universitario Doce de Octubre and Hospital General La Mancha Centro. She returned to MD Anderson to complete a three-year fellowship in neuro-oncology, where she became involved in a large retrospective research project looking at adult medulloblastoma patients. Dr. Penas-Prado then returned to Madrid, Spain to practice as a neuro-oncologist and receive a master’s degree in molecular oncology from the Spanish National Cancer Research Center and Universidad Rey Juan Carlos. A few years later, she accepted a position at MD Anderson as an assistant professor in the Department of Neuro-Oncology. She was later promoted to associate professor, and served as the clinical research director of neuro-oncology before joining the Neuro-Oncology Branch (NOB) in 2018, where she is now a senior clinician at the NCI-CONNECT (Comprehensive Oncology Network Evaluating Rare CNS Tumors) clinic.

In addition to her commitment to caring for patients with central nervous system (CNS) tumors—specifically those with rare diseases—Dr. Penas-Prado has also served as a principal investigator on numerous investigator-initiated, industry-sponsored, and cooperative clinical trials. She has also served as an editor and reviewer for scientific journals such as Neuro-Oncology, the Journal of Neuro-Oncology, and Neuro-Oncology Practice, and as a scientific reviewer of abstracts submitted to neurology and neuro-oncology meetings. 

Dr. Penas-Prado has been a presenter for multiple educational lectures and scientific abstracts conducted at the NIH as well as national and international meetings. She has mentored over fifty medical students, clinical residents, and fellows during their neuro-oncology training. In addition, Dr. Penas-Prado led a workshop on adult medulloblastoma, a rare CNS tumor, to bring together advocates, clinicians, and scientists to review gaps in knowledge and discuss specific goals advance the field.