Dr. R. Daniel Bonfil is an expert in Cancer Biology, whose research career has focused on the elucidation of the mechanisms driving cancer invasion, metastasis, and angiogenesis.  In 2017, he joined Nova Southeastern University, where he currently serves as Professor and Chair, Division of Pathology at the College of Allopathic Medicine, actively teaching MD, Osteopathic Medicine, Dental Medicine, and Optometry students.

Dr. Bonfil obtained his Licentiate (equivalent to combined B.Sc. and M.Sc. in the United States) and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and completed his post-doctoral training at the Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA.  He served as Tenured Research Investigator at the National Council for Scientific and Technological Research (CONICET), directing research groups at the National Academy of Medicine and later at the Center for Pharmacological Studies (CEFYBO), both in Buenos Aires, Argentina.  His findings on the phenomenon of “concomitant antitumor resistance”, by which the growth of distant secondary tumor implants or metastases in tumor-bearing hosts is often inhibited by the presence of a primary tumor, were the foundation for later discoveries of anti-angiogenic factors, which today are part of the arsenal in cancer treatment, such as Avastin.  He also was Scientific Director of the nonprofit organization FUNDIC (Cancer Research Foundation, Buenos Aires), where he was committed for almost one decade to both cancer research and the promotion of cancer awareness through education and community outreach to children and underserved population.

In 2002, Dr. Bonfil moved to the United States and joined Wayne State University School of Medicine (WSU-SOM), Detroit, MI, as an Associate Professor at the Departments of Urology and Pathology, and also had a secondary appointment at the Department of Oncology as scientific member of the Karmanos Cancer Institute.  During his 15-year term at WSU-SOM, Dr. Bonfil’s research led to significant observations on the molecular and cellular mechanisms that drive bone metastasis, a major clinical complication in men with metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer and women with breast cancer.  Much of his scientific activity was funded by intramural and extramural (National Institutes of Health, and Department of Defense) grants, and has centered on the investigation of the cross-talk between cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment, resulting in novel findings on the role of matrix metalloproteinases and, more recently on receptor tyrosine kinases such as c-kit and discoidin domain receptors (DDRs), in bone metastasis.  He directed many Ph.D. theses, mentored numerous trainees, including postdoctoral, masters, and undergraduate students, and taught graduate courses in the Cancer Biology Graduate Program, Pathology, and Interdisciplinary Biomedical Science.  Dr. Bonfil has served as scientific reviewer in several Department of Defense (DOD) Study Sections on cancer, is Editorial Board member of three medical journals, Editor of the Section Oncologic Pathology of Current Oncology, and reviewer for numerous health sciences journals.

His scientific work is well documented by peer-reviewed publications and chapters in books that add up to around 100, and by more than 90 abstracts presented at national and international scientific meetings.