June 15, 2000
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute appoints David Rosenthal, Md, Medical Director Of New Center For Integrated Therapy
Past President of American Cancer Society Accepts Role in Leonard P. Zakim Center
Dr. David S. Rosenthal, M.D., past president of the American Cancer Society (ACS) and director and CEO of Harvard University Health Services (HUHS), has been appointed medical director of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute's soon-to-be-unveiled Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies.
Rosenthal said the Zakim's Center's mission and focus is in close alignment with his role as chair of the Alternative and Complementary Methods of Cancer Management Advisory Committee for ACS.
"The Zakim Center seeks to provide patients with complementary therapies to improve their quality of life while receiving conventional treatments," said Rosenthal. "Simultaneously, the Center will provide clinical researchers the opportunity to study the safety and efficacy of these programs. We hope the Center will both improve the care of cancer patients and advance the scientific understanding of complementary medicine."
The Center was named for Dana-Farber supporter and former executive director of the New England region Anti-Defamation League, Lenny Zakim, who died last December after a long battle with multiple myeloma. Through dogged determination, Zakim laid the groundwork for a program at Dana-Farber that would combine conventional cancer treatment with a variety of complementary therapies, and study their effects on the health and well-being of patients. The Center is expected to open in the fall.
"Rosenthal has distinguished himself over many years as a physician who cares deeply about improving patient care--particularly the care of cancer patients," said David G. Nathan, president of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. "As medical director of the Zakim Center, he will ensure our patients are integrating the best clinical treatments with the safest complementary therapies available."
Rosenthal is a professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and a senior physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dana-Farber, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. He was the longtime director of the Clinical Division of Hematology at Brigham and Women's Hospital until 1990 when he accepted his current position at HUHS--coordinating the care and management of 35,000 members of the Harvard University community. In addition to his other appointments, Dr. Rosenthal is the current chair of the Massachusetts Coalition for a Healthy Future.
Rosenthal has an extensive history with the ACS, serving on both local and national boards. He also serves on numerous national committees including the Research and Clinical Investigation Committee, Public Issues/Public Policy Committee and the Advisory Group on Research Evaluation and Targeting. He is a past recipient of the American Cancer Society's St. George Medal for his outstanding contributions to cancer control as well as the Meritorious Service Award from the United States Air Force.
Dr. Rosenthal currently resides in Cambridge, Mass., with his wife, Judy.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (www.dana-farber.org) is among the leading cancer research and care facilities in the United States and is the only center in New England to be both a federally designated Comprehensive Cancer Center and a Center for AIDS Research.
