Edward J. Benz Jr. is the former president 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 ...

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

., and the Richard and Susan Smith Professor of Medicine as well as a professor of

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

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 ...

. He was named to the presidency of Dana-Farber in 2000, succeeding David G. Nathan. He was also the chief executive officer of Dana-Farber/Partners Cancer Care, a member of the Governing Board for Dana-Farber/Boston Children's Cancer and Blood Disorders Center, and the director of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. In October 2016, Benz was succeeded by Dr. Laurie H. Glimcher.

Biography

He earned his Doctor of Medicine from Harvard Medical School in 1973, and a master's degree (privatum) from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

and his bachelor's from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. His medical school thesis, which was done at

Boston Children's Hospital Boston Children's Hospital (formerly known as Children's Hospital Boston until 2013) is the main pediatric training and research hospital of Harvard Medical School, Harvard University. It is a nationally ranked, freestanding acute care children ...

, won the

Soma Weiss Soma Weiss (January 27, 1898 – January 31, 1942) was a Hungarian-born American physician known for describing the Mallory–Weiss syndrome with George Kenneth Mallory. Early life Soma Weiss was born in 1898 in Bistriţa, Transylvania, Austro- ...

and Leon Resnick Awards for Research. He completed training at the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...

School of Medicine and

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 ...

, in Boston, Mass. He is board certified in both

hematology Hematology (American and British English spelling differences#ae and oe, spelled haematology in British English) is the branch of medicine concerned with the study of the cause, prognosis, treatment, and prevention of diseases related to bloo ...

and

internal medicine Internal medicine, also known as general medicine in Commonwealth nations, is a medical specialty for medical doctors focused on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diseases in adults. Its namesake stems from "treatment of diseases of ...

and remains clinically active. He is a fellow of the

American College of Physicians The American College of Physicians (ACP) is a Philadelphia-based national organization of internal medicine physicians, who specialize in the diagnosis, treatment, and care of adults. With 161,000 members, ACP is the largest medical-specialty or ...

and is known for his work on blood disorders.

Previous positions

Prior to his role at Dana-Farber, Benz was the chairman of the Department of Medicine at the

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a Private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established in 1893 following the construction of the Johns Ho ...

. At Johns Hopkins, he served as the Sir

William Osler Sir William Osler, 1st Baronet, (; July 12, 1849 – December 29, 1919) was a Canadian physician and one of the "Big Four" founding professors of Johns Hopkins Hospital. Osler created the first Residency (medicine), residency program for speci ...

Professor of Medicine. He also served as physician in chief at

Johns Hopkins Hospital Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH) is the teaching hospital and biomedical research facility of Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1889, Johns Hopkins Hospital and its school of medicine are considered to be the foundin ...

. He has also been president at 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 ...

, the

Association of American Cancer Institutes The Association of American Cancer Institutes (AACI) is a nonprofit membership association representing more than 100 academic and freestanding cancer centers in the United States and Canada, including cancer centers designated by the National Can ...

, 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 ...

, the American Clinical and Climatological Society, and the Friends of the National Institute of Nursing Research.

Research

Benz is an active researcher who receives funding through the National Institutes of Health and is part of the leukemia research program at Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center. His research centers on the molecular basis and genetics around inherited blood disorders.

Publications

Benz is an associate editor for the ''

New England Journal of Medicine ''The New England Journal of Medicine'' (''NEJM'') is a weekly medical journal published by the Massachusetts Medical Society. Founded in 1812, the journal is among the most prestigious peer-reviewed medical journals. Its 2023 impact factor was ...

.'' He is the author of more than 300 articles, books, reviews and abstracts. In particular, he is coeditor of several standard texts: *''Hematology: Basic Principles and Practice'' (Silberstein, Leslie E., et al. Hematology: Basic Principles and Practice. Elsevier Health Sciences, 2012) * ''Principles and Practice of Medicine'' (Benz, Edward J. et al. Principles and Practice of Medicine. Appleton and Lange, 2005) *''Oxford Textbook of Medicine'', 4th ed. (Warrell, D.A., et al. Oxford Textbook of Medicine. Oxford University Press, 2003)

Awards and honors

* Margaret L. Kripke Legend Award, 2011 *

Mentoring Award in Basic Science, 2007 *Chair, National Institutes of Health Director's Blue Ribbon Panel on the future of Intramural Clinical Research, 2003 *

Royal Society of Medicine The Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) is a medical society based at 1 Wimpole Street, London, UK. It is a registered charity, with admission through membership. Its Chief Executive is Michele Acton. History The Royal Society of Medicine (R ...

Book Award (for ''Oxford Textbook of Medicine''), 2003 *Elected to:

Institute 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 ...

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 ...

, and the

Association of American Physicians The Association of American Physicians (AAP) is an honorary medical society founded in 1885 by the Canadian physician Sir William Osler and six other distinguished physicians of his era for "the advancement of scientific and practical medicine ...

.Association of American Physicians, member directory
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benz, Edward J. Jr. Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) Living people American oncologists American geneticists Harvard Medical School alumni Yale University alumni Johns Hopkins University faculty Princeton University alumni Presidents of the American Society of Hematology Members of the National Academy of Medicine