Robert J. Keenan, M.D., MMM

Robert J. Keenan, MD, M.M.M. is vice president of Quality and chief medical officer for Moffitt Cancer Center. In this role he provides senior leadership to Clinical Service Chiefs, Hospital and Clinic Medical Directors, and Medical Staff Affairs. Dr. Keenan also oversees the quality of clinical services and develops clinical performance improvement efforts to maximize the value of care for patients.

A native of Ontario, Canada, Keenan’s childhood fostered passions for wildlife ecology and medicine. He received his medical degree from the University of Alberta and subsequently completed a residency in general surgery and fellowship in thoracic surgery at hospitals of the University of Toronto School of Medicine in Toronto.

Between his residency and fellowship, Dr. Keenan spent two years conducting  lung transplantation research at the University of Pittsburgh, where became a faculty member upon completion of fellowship in 1992. During eight years at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Keenan held the titles of director of Thoracic Surgery, vice-chair of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery and director of the Lung Transplant and Lung Volume Reduction programs.

In 2000, Dr. Keenan joined the West Penn Allegheny Health System (now Allegheny Health Network) as system director of Thoracic Surgery and Chief Quality Officer for two of the system’s major hospitals. In 2015, he was recruited to join Moffitt as the Chief Medical Officer and vice president of Quality.

Dr. Keenan is a senior member in the Department of Thoracic Oncology and a professor of Oncologic Sciences at the University of South Florida. He is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons and of the Royal College of Surgeons of Canada. In clinical research activities, Dr. Keenan is a principal investigator for the National Emphysema Treatment Trial, a site principal investigator for numerous thoracic oncology cooperative group trials through ACOSOG, CALGB and ECOG and a national co-investigator for a randomized trial for early stage lung cancers.

He is the author or co-author of over 230 scientific articles and book chapters. In the area of quality, Dr. Keenan has been an examiner for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award and holds a Healthcare Lean Certificate from the University of Michigan.