David J. Savage

David Savage is a graduate of the Medical Scientist Training Program (MSTP) at the UTHealth McGovern Medical School in Houston, TX. His PhD research focused on the enzyme UBE4B and its role in the chemotherapy response of neuroblastoma, the most common extracranial solid tumor of childhood. David trained for two years in the internal medicine residency program at the Cleveland Clinic (roster), and completed his senior resident year at UC San Diego Health. He completed hematology-oncology fellowship at Scripps, where he was the chief fellow his senior year. David is now an Assistant Professor in medical oncology at the University of New Mexico's Comprehensive Cancer Center in Albuquerque. He focuses on the care of people with melanoma, non-melanoma skin cancers, non-malignant skin disorders, and sarcoma.

David is passionate about service. In 2012-2013 he ran a yearlong service project for refugees in Houston as an Albert Schweitzer Fellow.  He then became Co-Chair of the Board for the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship Houston-Galveston. In September 2017 he gave his first ever TEDx talk about refugee resettlement in Texas.

David is passionate about teaching. He taught for the Princeton Review between 2007 and 2020. He started as a physics instructor for MCAT and later became certified as a national Master Trainer for new MCAT physics teachers. David was in the inaugural class of the Clinician-Educator Track at Cleveland Clinic. As a resident, he worked with a team to earn an ACGME Back to Bedside grant to build a curriculum for teaching Breaking Bad News skills to residents. A proof-of-concept study from this project was published in June 2021.

David is passionate about leadership. He has served as Chair of the Texas Medical Association's Medical Student Section (MSS), on the AMA's Council on Medical Education, as Speaker for the American Medical Association's MSS & RFS Governing Councils, as a Board Member for the Texas Medical Association, and as an Advisory Panelist for the AMA's Accelerating Change in Medical Education UME grant program. He's currently on the Austin College Alumni Board and the McGovern Medical School Alumni Board.