Highlights
Johns Hopkins Affiliations:
- Johns Hopkins School of Medicine Faculty
About Ross C. Donehower
Professional Titles
- Director, Medical Oncology/Hematology Fellowship Training Program
- Director, Division of Medical Oncology
- Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor in Clinical Investigation of Cancer
Primary Academic Title
Professor of Oncology
Background
Dr. Ross C. Donehower is an oncologist in the Baltimore area, caring for patients with gastrointestinal cancers. He was part of the team that developed premedications that allowed paclitaxel — a chemotherapy medication now used to treat several types of cancers — to be safely given to patients. The Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor in Clinical Investigation of Cancer, he serves as the director of the Hematology & Medical Oncology Fellowship Program and director of the Division of Medical Oncology at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.
Dr. Donehower received his undergraduate degree from Hamline University and earned his M.D. from the University of Minnesota. He completed his residency at The Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Donehower joined the Johns Hopkins faculty in 1980.
Prior to joining Johns Hopkins, Dr. Donehower was a surgeon with the U.S. Public Health Service and a clinical associate of the medicine branch and clinical pharmacology branch at the National Cancer Institute.
His research interests include gastrointestinal cancers, new anticancer drug development and pharmacology.
Dr. Donehower serves on the editorial boards of numerous scholarly journals, including the International Journal of Oncology. He has been recognized by the American Society of Clinical Oncology with a 2017 Excellence in Teaching Award. He is a member of several professional organizations, including the American College of Physicians, the American Society of Clinical Oncology and the American Association for Cancer Research.
Centers and Institutes
Additional Academic Titles
Professor of Medicine
Research Interests
Gastrointestinal Cancers, New Anticancer Drug Development, Pharmacology
Selected Publications
Le DT, Durham JN, Smith KN, Wang H, Bartlett BR, Aulakh LK, Lu S, Kemberling H, Wilt C, Luber BS, Wong F, Azad NS, Rucki AA, Laheru D, Donehower R, Zaheer A, Fisher GA, Crocenzi TS, Lee JJ, Greten TF, Duggy AG, Ciombor KK, Eyring AD, Lam BH, Joe A, Kang SP, Holdhofff M, Danilova L, Cope L, Meyer C, Zhou S, Goldberg RM, Armstrong DK, Bever KM, Fader AN, Taub J, Housseau F, Spetzler D, Xiao N, Pardoll DM, Papadopoulos N, Kinzler KW Exhleman JR, Vogelstein B, Anders RA, Diaz LA Jr. “Mismatch repair deficiency predicts response of solid tumors to PD-1 blockade.” Science. 2017;357(6349):409-413
Naik RP, Marrone K, Merrill S, Donehower R, Brodsky R. “Single-board hematology fellowship track: A 10-year institutional experience.” Blood. 2018;131(4):462-464
Reiss KA, Rangachari D, Cosgrove D, Wilky B, Donehower R. “Growing pains: A simulation-based curriculum for improving the transition to hematology/oncology fellowship.” J Cancer Educ. 2017;32(3):496-502
Shrestha B, Sun Y, Faisal F, Kim V, Soares K, Blair A, Herman JM, Narang A, Dholakia AS, Rosati L, Hacker-Prietz A, Chen L, Laheru, DA, DeJesus-Acosta A, Le DT, Donehower R, Azad N, Diaz LA, Murphy A, Lee V, Fishman EK, Hruban RH, Liang T, Cameron JL, Makary M, Weiss MJ, Ahuja N, He J, Wolfgang CL, Huang CY, Zheng L. “Long-term survival benefit of upfront chemotherapy in patients with newly diagnosed borderline resectable pancreatic cancer.” Cancer Med. 2017;6(7):1552-1562
Yarchoan M, Myzak MC, Johnson BA 3rd, De Jesus-Acosta A, Le DT, Jaffee EM, Azad NS, Donehower RC, Zheng L, Oberstein PE, Fine RL, Laheru DA, Goggins M. “Olaparib in combination with irinotecan, cisplatin, and mitomycin C in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer.” Oncotarget. 2017 Jul 4;8(27):44073-44081
Honors
- Excellence in Teaching Award, American Society of Clinical Oncology, 1/1/17
- Director's Teaching Award, Johns Hopkins Cancer Center, 1/1/16
- Member, Miller-Coulson Academy of Clinical Excellence, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, 1/1/15
Memberships
- American College of Physicians
- American Society of Clinical Oncology
- American Association for Cancer Research
- European Society of Medical Oncology
Professional Activities
- Clinical Cancer Research, Editorial Board, 1/1/94
- International Journal of Oncology, Editorial Board, 1/1/02
- Investigational New Drugs, Editorial Board, 1/1/98
- Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Faculty Senate, 1/1/19
- Journal of the National Cancer Institute, Associate Editor, 1/1/94
- The Oncologist, Associate Editor, 1/1/96
Locations
- Johns Hopkins Health Care & Surgery Center - Green Spring Station, Lutherville
- 10803 Falls Road, Pavilion III STE 1500, Lutherville, MD 21093
- phone: 410-583-2970
- fax: 410-583-2980
- Skip Viragh Outpatient Cancer Center
- 201 North Broadway Street, Viragh BLDG 5th FL, Baltimore, MD 21287
- phone: 410-955-8964
- fax: 410-367-2194
Expertise
Education
National Institutes of Health
Fellowship, Medical Oncology, 1980Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Residency, Internal Medicine, 1976University of Minnesota Medical School
Medical Education, MD, 1974Board Certifications
Medical Oncology
American Board of Internal Medicine, 1979Internal Medicine
American Board of Internal Medicine, 1977Insurance
- Aetna
- CareFirst
- Cigna
- First Health
- Geisinger Health Plan
- HealthSmart/Accel
- Humana
- Johns Hopkins Health Plans
- MultiPlan
- Pennsylvania's Preferred Health Networks (PPHN)
- Point Comfort Underwriters
- Private Healthcare Systems (PHCS)
- UnitedHealthcare
- Veteran Affairs Community Care Network (Optum-VACCN)
Ratings & Reviews
4.9 out of 5
75 ratings, 40 reviewsThe Patient Rating score is an average of all responses to physician related questions on the national CG-CAHPS Medical Practice patient experience survey through Press Ganey. Responses are measured on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best score. Comments are also gathered from our CG-CAHPS Medical Practice Survey through Press Ganey and displayed in their entirety. Patients are de-identified for confidentiality and patient privacy.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 2/18/2025
Dr Don is the best.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 2/4/2025
Dr is amazing. Caring, brilliant, kind.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 2/4/2025
He is very kind when talking about treatment options. The absolute best provider we could ask for!
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 1/21/2025
Excellent doctor - always professional, kind & helpful.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 1/21/2025
Dr. Ross Donehower is excellent!
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 1/21/2025
Dr. Donehower is an excellent, knowledgeable and very professional doctor, and in my opinion one of Johns Hopkins jewel. I and my family are very grateful to him and Johns Hopkins.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 1/14/2025
Everyone was great
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 12/20/2024
Doctor Donehower and [staff] were excellent. They were very well prepared with my history. They explained my situation in a detailed manner that was very easy to understand. They were very professional and showed great kindness. Since then I have contacted them with questions and there response was incredibly fast. Very impressive for such busy individuals. I could not recommend them any higher. I feel blessed to have them available to me.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 12/11/2024
Very professional
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 12/6/2024
Outstanding
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 12/4/2024
Dr Donehower is the best. He is intelligent, caring and very knowledgeable. Thank you!
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 12/3/2024
Dr Donehower is a kind and loving physician.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 12/3/2024
Excellent
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 11/19/2024
Dr. Donehower has been providing my care for nearly 4 years now and he is always kind, patient and thorough.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 11/5/2024
Dr. Donehower is the most thorough , and concerned Dr I have ever had! John Hopkins is lucky to have such an awesome Dr
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 11/1/2024
He explained things regarding my illness and future treatment plans very well.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 10/30/2024
He is attentive to my needs
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 10/8/2024
Dr. Donehower is a wise, thorough, and top-class expert. A kind and thoughtful physician.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 10/8/2024
Received somewhat grave feedback from doctor but very professionally done. He quickly grasped that I prefer to deal with the facts head on. Well done Doctor Donehower.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 9/20/2024
Probably the BEST provider I have ever seen. Took his time. Explained EVERYTHING. Kind. Knowledgeable. Absolutely magnificent.
- 3 out of 5 starsReviewed on 9/13/2024
Ok
- 4 out of 5 starsReviewed on 9/10/2024
Excellent doctor very friendly very polite
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 8/28/2024
Excellent care since I've been his patient
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 8/23/2024
Excellent!
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 8/20/2024
He was very attentive and careful to explain things at a level I could understand. He listened to and answered my queationa well.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 7/26/2024
Very knowledgeable and wonderful person
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 7/23/2024
Doctor is excellent, he's a jewel at Johns Hopkins!
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 7/16/2024
They always help out correctly.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 6/4/2024
A real help with clear instructions.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 5/31/2024
Dr. Donehower and Keith McIntyre were incredibly knowledgeable, easy to speak with, explained everything so throughly, and we loved the whole John's Hopkins experience from checking in to speaking with the Dr and nurse.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 5/29/2024
Very good and professional
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 5/14/2024
Dr. Donehower is always kind, polite, prepared & professional. I could not ask for anything else. The tech who put my IV was kind, friendly & did an excellent job. I have had her once before but I can't remember her name. She was excellent. My nurse [Name] I think, the same. Both kind, friendly, professional & excellent. Great experience.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 5/14/2024
Excellent healthcare provider.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 5/10/2024
Excellent care!!
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 5/7/2024
Very glad to have Dr. Donehower.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 4/30/2024
Excellent service from Dr. He took time to explain everything to me in a way that I understood. Dr. Donehower exceeded my expectations.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 4/16/2024
The doctor is excellent.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 4/12/2024
Great first visit
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 4/5/2024
He was a very good doctor. He was kind and explained every detail in detail. I am very grateful that I met him.
- 5 out of 5 starsReviewed on 3/27/2024
Dr. Donehower is an amazing provider. He is knowledgeable and warm-hearted.