Dr. Rana R. McKay is a board-certified medical oncologist and internationally recognized expert in genitourinary cancers, with a clinical and research focus on prostate, kidney, bladder, and testicular malignancies. She is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Urology at the University of California San Diego (UC San Diego), where she also serves as the Associate Director of Translational Sciences and Co-Leader of the Genitourinary Oncology Program at the Moores Cancer Center.
At UC San Diego, Dr. McKay leads a multidisciplinary prostate cancer clinic designed to deliver highly specialized, coordinated care for patients with aggressive or metastatic disease. Her clinic brings together medical oncology, urology, and radiation oncology, ensuring that each patient receives individualized, evidence-based treatment informed by the latest scientific advances.
Dr. McKay’s research centers on the design and implementation of clinical trials, biomarker development, and therapeutic optimization for genitourinary malignancies. She is the principal investigator of several early-phase trials in prostate and kidney cancer and is deeply committed to understanding mechanisms of response and resistance to targeted therapies, immunotherapy, and hormone-based treatments. Her work has been published in leading scientific journals including The New England Journal of Medicine, Nature, The Lancet, Journal of Clinical Oncology, Clinical Cancer Research,and Cancer.
Before joining UC San Diego Health, Dr. McKay served as a medical oncologist at Dana-Farber/Brigham and Women’s Cancer Center and was an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School. She earned her medical degree from the University of Florida College of Medicine, completed her residency in internal medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital, and pursued a fellowship in medical oncology and hematology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School.
Dr. McKay is an active contributor to national oncology leadership. She is a member of the NCI Renal Task Force, the Alliance Advanced Prostate Cancer Committee, the NRG Oncology RCC Cadre, and serves on the NCCN Prostate Cancer Guidelines Panel, helping shape the standards of care for patients worldwide.
Known for her dedication to patients, scientific rigor, and commitment to advancing precision oncology, Dr. Rana McKay continues to drive innovation in the treatment of urogenital cancers and to mentor the next generation of oncologists at UC San Diego.
She is a Member of the Editorial Board of OncoDaily.