dentist educator physician researcher author
Robert John Cabay was born into the family of John A. Cabay and Irene M. Cabay. Raised in suburban Chicagoland, he attended the Mary Jane Kennedy School in Westchester, Illinois and Proviso West High School in Hillside, Illinois, where he developed early interests in sports, science, healthcare, and public service. His upbringing encouraged broad intellectual curiosity and a commitment to excellence, traits that would lay the groundwork for his professional career.
Dr. Cabay earned a Bachelor of Science in General Studies degree from Northwestern University, a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from the Loyola University School of Dentistry - Chicago College of Dental Surgery, a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health, and a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Illinois College of Medicine Chicago, where he was a Children of Veterans Scholar. His medical training included a Donald West King Fellowship in oral and maxillofacial pathology at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, a cytopathology fellowship at the Loyola University Medical Center, a surgical pathology fellowship at the University of Illinois College of Medicine, and a highly specialized visiting fellowship in head and neck pathology at Massachusetts General Hospital and the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary, which allowed him to sharpen his focus on head, neck, and oral pathology alongside Harvard Medical School faculty.
Following his graduation from the Loyola University School of Dentistry - Chicago College of Dental Surgery as vice-president of his class, Dr. Cabay entered into practice as a general dentist in suburban Chicagoland. The early-career experience that he gained from dentistry helped him to prepare for his ensuing career in medicine. Following the completion of his medical training, Dr. Cabay maintained a position at the University of Illinois Chicago (UI Health) as an attending physician with academic appointments in the Departments of Pathology and Otolaryngology in the College of Medicine and in the Department of Oral Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences in the College of Dentistry. As part of his multidisciplinary roles there, Dr. Cabay served patients and his medical and dental colleagues as a cytopathologist and surgical pathologist with special interest in head and neck pathology while also being recognized as a highly effective educator of fellows, residents, and students. His internal and external collaborations with renowned clinicians and researchers resulted in numerous publications in a wide variety of peer-reviewed medical and dental journals. Dr. Cabay retired from clinical practice in 2025 and was appointed Associate Professor Emeritus of Clinical Pathology at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Chicago.
Diplomate, American Board of Pathology
Diplomate, American Board of Quality Assurance and Utilization Review Physicians
Life Fellow
College of American Pathologists
Emeritus Member
North American Society of Head and Neck Pathology
Retired Member
United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology
Member
American Medical Association
Member
American Dental Association
Life Member
American Society of Cytopathology
Emeritus Fellow
American Society for Clinical Pathology
Associate Professor Emeritus of Clinical Pathology, University of Illinois College of Medicine Chicago
