Dr. Robert Cerulli is a Clinical Fellow in Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and Harvard Medical School, where he is a member of the Division of Hematology/Oncology. He completed his MD and PhD at the Tufts University School of Medicine, where he gained recognition as the first student at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences to defend his doctoral thesis virtually during the 2020 pandemic. Following his medical education, he completed his residency at Brigham and Women's Hospital before joining the fellowship program at BIDMC.
His scientific interests primarily focus on the molecular foundations of cancer and the development of novel therapeutic tools. Dr. Cerulli’s research has specialized in peptidomimetics and the study of autophagy pathways, specifically investigating the LC3B protein to develop high-affinity selective ligands. His work explores how inhibiting autophagy can enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapy in difficult-to-treat cancers. Additionally, his research background includes expertise in protein tyrosine phosphatases, Src homology domains, and the structural biology of viral and neoplastic signaling.