Ralph White III

Bio

Dr. Ralph E. White III, a native of Stone Mountain, Georgia by way of Decatur, is a Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Cancer Biology at the University of Pennsylvania’s Perelman School of Medicine. He earned his PhD in Pharmacology from the University of Minnesota Medical School in 2023 under the mentorship of Dr. Justin Drake.

Dr. White’s doctoral research focused on evaluating a combination of the SRC kinase inhibitor saracatinib with enzalutamide as a potential treatment for castration-resistant prostate cancer. At Penn, under the mentorship of Dr. Donita Brady, he is applying chemoproteomic approaches to identify metalloprotein vulnerabilities in cancer, with the goal of uncovering new therapeutic targets. His research reflects a deep commitment to understanding and overcoming mechanisms of cancer resistance through precision medicine and chemical biology.

Beyond the lab, Dr. White expresses his creativity through music production, painting, and drawing, and is an active advocate for science communication and outreach. He aims to one day lead his own laboratory, mentoring the next generation of cancer researchers while continuing to share the excitement of science with broader audiences.