Dr. Rodrigo Oliva Perez, MD PhD, has graduated from the University of São Paulo School of Medicine (1993-1998) where he has completed his surgical training under the supervision of Prof. Angelita Habr-Gama (1999-2003). In 2002 he was a Visiting Research Fellow at USC under supervision of Dr. Robert Beart. He obtained his PhD in 2006 in studying potential molecular targets for gene therapy in rectal cancer. After joining the Angelita & Joaquim Gama Institute in 2004, Dr. Perez has concentrated his clinical and research activity on the management of rectal cancer. From 2010 to 2014, Dr. Perez was a Post-Doctoral fellow at the University of São Paulo in the use of molecular imaging (PET/CT) for rectal cancer. In 2014 and 2018, Dr. Perez was awarded the Young Research Fund (FAPESP) to study molecular mechanisms associated with resistance/sensitivity of rectal cancers to chemoradiation. In 2020, he became director of Colorectal Surgery Division at Hospital Alemão Oswaldo Cruz and runs multiple surgical educational activities funded by medical industry. Currently, he serves at the editorial board of multiple scientific surgical and oncology journals and has contributed with numerous (>170) publications to the field.