Benjamin Levine Ebert is the president and CEO of

Dana–Farber Cancer Institute Dana–Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI) is a comprehensive cancer treatment and research center in Boston, Massachusetts. Dana-Farber is the founding member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, Harvard's Comprehensive Cancer Center designated ...

, the Richard and Susan Smith Professor of Medicine at

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

and director of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. Ebert succeeded

Laurie Glimcher Laurie Hollis Glimcher (born 1951) is an American physician-scientist and former President and CEO of Dana–Farber Cancer Institute. She was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2019. Glimcher has been at the center of cont ...

as president and CEO in October 2024.

Early life and education

Ebert was born in Boston to parents Michael and Ellen Ebert. His father was the Chair of the department of psychiatry at

Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) is the graduate medical school of Vanderbilt University, a private research university located in Nashville, Tennessee. The School of Medicine is primarily housed within the Eskind Biomedical Libra ...

while his mother was an artist. He and his family lived in Bethesda, Maryland, and

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. While in Tennessee, Ebert was enrolled at the

University School of Nashville University School of Nashville is an independent, coeducational, day school located in Nashville, Tennessee. History Referred to colloquially as USN, the school was founded in 1888 by the Peabody Board of Trustees. The school was first founded ...

. During high school, he also worked in the laboratory of Daryl Granner and studied gene regulation and diabetes. Following high school, Ebert received a bachelor's degree from

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

. As a senior, he was presented with the college's Good Citizen award for his involvement in various community projects over the years. Ebert was also elected president of the Williams juggling club and competed in cycling. In 1992, Ebert went to the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

as a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international Postgraduate education, postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford in Oxford, United Kingdom. The scholarship is open to people from all backgrounds around the world. Esta ...

where he completed a doctorate under the mentorship of Sir Peter Ratcliffe. Upon returning to North America, Ebert enrolled at

(HMS) and worked with Frank Bunn, whom he later listed as a major reason for pursuing a career in hematology. He graduated from HMS in 1999 and then completed his internship and

residency Residency may refer to: * Artist-in-residence, a program to sponsor the residence and work of visual artists, writers, musicians, etc. * Concert residency, a series of concerts performed at one venue * Domicile (law), the act of establishing or m ...

Massachusetts General Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital (Mass General or MGH) is a teaching hospital located in the West End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts. It is the original and largest clinical education and research facility of Harvard Medical School/Harvar ...

in 2001. He then went on to complete his clinical fellowship in hematology and oncology at

(DFCI).

Career

Ebert started his career as a Harvard Medical School faculty member at

Brigham and Women’s Hospital Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH or The Brigham) is a teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and the largest hospital in the Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Along with Massachusetts General Hospital, it is one of the two ...

, where he led an independent research laboratory and practiced medicine as a hematologist/oncologist. His laboratory described the genomic landscape of adult myelodysplastic syndromes and identified RPS14 as a key gene for deletion 5q MDS. In 2011, Ebert was elected to the

American Society for Clinical Investigation The American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), established in 1908, is one of the oldest and most respected medical honor societies in the United States. Organization and purpose The ASCI is an honorary society to which more than 2,800 p ...

. In 2014, Ebert's lab found that

lenalidomide Lenalidomide, sold under the brand name Revlimid among others, is a medication used to treat multiple myeloma, smoldering myeloma, and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). For multiple myeloma, it is a first-line treatment, and is given with dexa ...

, a cancer drug, targeted two proteins, IKZF1 and IFZF3, for degradation. This finding and additional studies established the mechanism of action of lenalidomide in both multiple myeloma and del(5q) MDS. An independent line of investigation characterized and defined clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) as a precursor state for blood cancers and a risk factor for inflammatory diseases. As a result of his research, Ebert was the recipient of the 2017 William Dameshek Prize from the

American Society of Hematology The American Society of Hematology (ASH) is a professional organization representing hematologists, founded in 1958. Its annual meeting is held in December of every year and has attracted more than 30,000 attendees. The society publishes the medi ...

. He has received funding from a

National Cancer Institute The National Cancer Institute (NCI) coordinates the United States National Cancer Program and is part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which is one of eleven agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. ...

Outstanding Investigator Award for his research. In 2017, Ebert moved to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute to be Chair of the Department of Medical Oncology. In 2018, Ebert, was elected a member of the

National Academy of Medicine The National Academy of Medicine (NAM), known as the Institute of Medicine (IoM) until 2015, is an American nonprofit, non-governmental organization. The National Academy of Medicine is a part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineerin ...

for his "contributions to understanding the genetics and biology of myeloid malignancies, to the characterization of clonal hematopoiesis, and for elucidating the mechanism of action of thalidomide and its analogs." He was named a

Howard Hughes Medical Institute The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) is an American non-profit medical research organization headquartered in Chevy Chase, Maryland with additional facilities in Ashburn, Virginia. It was founded in 1953 by Howard Hughes, an American busin ...

Investigator in 2019. He has received multiple recognitions for mentorship including the Thomas McMahon Award and the Seidman Prize from the HST Program at Harvard Medical School.

Awards

* 2017 William Dameshek Prize from the

. * 2019 Meyenberg Cancer Research Prize * 2021 Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award * 2021 Sjöberg Prize for Cancer Research * 2023 Elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

* 2024 Fellow of the

AACR Academy The American Association for Cancer Research elects classes of fellows to recognize influential scientists in the field of cancer research. Six fellows were appointed to Vice President Biden’s Cancer Moonshot Initiative Blue Ribbon Panel. Sever ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ebert, Benjamin L. Living people Williams College alumni Harvard Medical School alumni Members of the National Academy of Medicine Members of the American Society for Clinical Investigation American Rhodes Scholars Alumni of the University of Oxford American oncologists Year of birth missing (living people) Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences University School of Nashville alumni