Volunteer Spotlight – RO: One Semester in Ireland Changed His Career Path
By ABR Communications Manager Rodney Campbell
February 2026;19(1):9
Even with a father who served as a team doctor in college and professional athletics, and other close relatives in medical fields, Danny Indelicato, MD, had other plans in college.
“I was an English literature major as an undergrad and spent most of my time growing up wanting to be an English professor,” he said. “My parents were a hundred percent supportive of that.”
He changed his mind when he spent a semester of his junior year at Dartmouth College studying 20th century Irish literature in Dublin. He questioned whether a career surveying the works of Samuel Beckett and John McGahern would bring fulfillment across his lifetime.
Switching his goal, Dr. Indelicato opted to attend medical school at the University of Miami after earning his undergraduate degree. His father, Peter Indelicato, MD, was the Miami Dolphins’ team physician at the time, along with serving the same role at the University of Florida (UF).
The younger Dr. Indelicato completed his residency at UF in his hometown of Gainesville. He’s now a pediatric radiation oncologist (RO) in the UF Department of Radiation Oncology, where he directs the pediatric radiotherapy program, helping young patients just as his dad did as an orthopedist.
“Many of his patients would go on to be amazing athletes capable of profound physical feats,” he said. “But some of my patients, given what they overcome, accomplish things that are just as amazing. As their doctor, this success is really gratifying to share and celebrate. Young people are resilient. That’s true whether it’s an 18-year-old athlete or a 5-year-old child.”
Every week, Dr. Indelicato typically has between 10 and 20 patients from around the world under his care. Treating children also involves working with families who are understandably worried.
“Interacting with families adds a level of complexity to my job,” he said. “But it also adds a layer of satisfaction because these families are pretty amazing, too. The sacrifices that parents and siblings make, the effort that they put in when a child is diagnosed, is remarkable to see.”
An ABR volunteer, Dr. Indelicato has written questions for the RO Qualifying Exam and participated as an oral examiner. His inspiration for serving is shared by the more than 1,300 physicians and physicists who give their time and expertise to the ABR.
“The primary driver for me is service to our profession,” he said. “It’s important that we contribute to the future of our specialty.”
Volunteers also learn as they interact with colleagues. The ABR does its best to make committees as varied as possible, considering practice types and geography where volunteers are based.
“I’m a pediatric radiation oncologist, a very subspecialized niche of an already small field,” Dr. Indelicato said. “When you work in that kind of practice every day, it’s easy to lose perspective around the bigger issues confronting our field. Beyond that, I work exclusively in an academic setting, which tends to draw me away from the hospital and clinic environment where most radiation oncologists practice. The ability to interact with other ABR volunteers offers an opportunity to get outside of that little bubble that forms around me in my day-to-day subsubspecialty niche.”
Working with RO residents as they cycle through pediatrics gives Dr. Indelicato another way to shape the future of his subspecialty. All RO residents from UF; Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville; and Moffitt Cancer Center in Tampa carry out their pediatric training with Dr. Indelicato.
“Worldwide, care for pediatric cancer patients is increasingly being concentrated at high-volume pediatric radiotherapy clinics,” he said. “This creates a valuable opportunity to learn about rare diseases but also an obligation to share the experience with trainees from programs lacking pediatric exposure. Therefore, all my clinical work is carried out in conjunction with residents and fellows.”
Torunn Yock, MD, the chair of Dr. Indelicato’s ABR committee, said she appreciates her colleague’s contributions, including writing more questions than expected of a member. Dr. Yock is a professor at Harvard Medical School and director of pediatric radiation oncology at Massachusetts General Hospital.
“Danny is a wonderful team member,” she said. “If I have to step out of the meeting, he can seamlessly pick up running the meeting deftly. He is very diplomatic and has a wonderful sense of what makes for an appropriate question and combination of questions on tests. He is a true joy to work with, and we are very thankful for his volunteerism and dedication to the mission of the ABR.”
Away from work, Dr. Indelicato is a big UF sports fan. It was a birthright for the son of a man who worked at the UF Athletics Association for 35 years.
Most anyone who grows up in the South understands the role college football plays in people’s lives. Major life events require extra planning when you live in the hometown of a Southeastern Conference school.
“I got married in St. Augustine on a fall weekend,” Dr. Indelicato said. “Between Gator football season and hurricane season, that takes some planning and luck. People from Florida will understand.”
