Haber selected as new director of MGH Cancer Center

BOSTON - June 4, 2003 - After an extensive search, Daniel Haber, MD, PhD, of Newton has been selected as the new director of the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center. He succeeds Kurt Isselbacher, MD, who is retiring after leading the center since 1986. The largest provider of care to cancer patients in New England, the MGH Cancer Center is a world leader in cancer treatment and research.

Haber, who is internationally recognized for his research in the genetics of cancer, was previously associate chief for Research in the MGH Hematology and Medical Oncology Unit. He will continue to serve as chair of the Cancer Genetics Program for the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center and as director of the MGH Center for Cancer Risk Analysis. He is a professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Haber earned MD and PhD degrees at Stanford University and completed his internship and residency at the MGH, followed by a clinical fellowship in medical oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He also received postdoctoral research training at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He returned to the MGH in 1991 and established a research lab to study the genetics of breast cancer and of Wilms tumors - a type of pediatric kidney cancer.

Among his team's findings are studies detailing the contribution of mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes to development of breast cancer in certain populations. The Center for Cancer Risk Analysis works closely with MGH clinicians to develop guidelines for counseling patients and family members who may be affected by cancer-associated gene mutations.

During his career, Haber has received numerous awards and serves on the editorial boards for the publications Cell and Cancer Cell. He also serves as the genetics editor for the New England Journal of Medicine. Recently, Haber was awarded a Doris Duke Distinguished Clinical Investigator Award and was elected to the American Association of Physicians.

Massachusetts General Hospital, established in 1811, is the original and largest teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School. The MGH conducts the largest hospital-based research program in the United States, with an annual research budget of more than $350 million and major research centers in AIDS, cardiovascular research, cancer, cutaneous biology, neurodegenerative disorders, transplantation biology and photomedicine. In 1994, MGH and Brigham and Women's Hospital joined to form Partners HealthCare System, an integrated health care delivery system comprising the two academic medical centers, specialty and community hospitals, a network of physician groups, and nonacute and home health services. The founding Partners hospitals have joined with Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to create a collaborative adult oncology service, Dana-Farber/Partners CancerCare.

Media Contact: Sue McGreevey, MGH Public Affairs

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