Working together for children with cancer

June 1, 2010
President emeritus awarded Harvard honorary degree

David G. Nathan, MD

David G. Nathan, MD

Dana-Farber President Emeritus David G. Nathan, MD, was awarded the honorary degree Doctor of Science from Harvard University at its 359th commencement on May 27. Nathan was one of 10 honorary degree recipients, a group which included retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter and actress Meryl Streep.

Nathan, who led DFCI from 1995-2000 before being succeeded by current President Edward J. Benz, Jr., MD, was distinguished for his long career as a pioneering cancer researcher, clinician, and mentor. He is an authority on blood disorders, whose discoveries have shed light on anemia and the hemoglobin disorder thalassemia.

"I entered Harvard College in 1947, and, with the exception of two years at the National Cancer Institute, I have been here ever since," says Nathan, who graduated from Harvard College in 1951 and Harvard Medical School in 1955. "This recognition has great meaning to me, and I am fully aware that it stems, in many ways, from the wonderful work done by those whom I have mentored or trained. I share this honor with them."

"By selecting David Nathan to receive this honorary doctorate, Harvard has wisely recognized the extraordinary scholarly and leadership accomplishments of one its most illustrious and devoted graduates," says DFCI President Edward J. Benz, Jr., MD. "This distinction also brings great honor to Dana-Farber and great joy to scores of students, co-workers, family, friends, mentees, and colleagues whose careers and lives have been inspired an enriched by David."

Nathan began his medical career as an intern and senior resident at the then Peter Bent Brigham Hospital (now Brigham and Women's Hospital), and then spent two years as a clinical associate at the National Cancer Institute. From 1959 to 1966, he was a hematologist at Brigham and Women's Hospital, and then became chief of the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Children's Hospital Boston and Dana-Farber. In 1985, he was named physician-in-chief at Children's Hospital Boston, a position he held until being named president of Dana-Farber a decade later.

In 1990, he won the National Medal of Science "for his contributions to the understanding of the pathophysiology, diagnosis and treatment of thalassemia; for his contributions to the understanding of disorders of red cell permeability; for his contributions to the understanding of the regulation of erythropoiesis; and for his contributions to the training of a generation of hematologists and oncologists." He is also the recipient of the John Howland Medal of the American Pediatric Society and the Kober Medal of the Association of American Physicians, one of just three physicians to win both honors.

Over the course of his career, Nathan has trained more than 100 hematologists, many of whom hold leading positions in pediatrics and internal medicine. His textbook, Hematology of Infancy and Childhood, is respected as a leading text in the field, and he is also the author of two other popular books: "Genes Blood and Courage" published in 1995, and "The Cancer Treatment Revolution" published in 2007.

Nathan has long been a member to many industry societies, including the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Association of American Physicians, the American Pediatric Society, the Institute of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. Among his numerous awards are the Stratton medal of the American Society of Hematology (of which he was president), and the Walker Prize of the Boston Museum of Science.

By Marcia Emerson

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