Members

David G. Nathan, M.D. is a graduate of Harvard College (1951) and Harvard Medical School (1955). He was an intern and senior resident in medicine at the then Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and a Clinical Associate at the National Cancer Institute. From 1959 to 1966 he was a hematologist at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital and then became Chief of the Division of Hematology and Oncology at Children’s Hospital and Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. From 1985 to 1995 he was Physician- in-Chief of the Children’s Hospital and from 1995 to 2000 was President of Dana Farber Cancer Institute. Dr. Nathan’s research has focused on the inherited disorders of red cells and granulocytes and particularly on thalassemia and sickle cell anemia. His contributions include the introduction of effective treatment of iron overload and of hydroxyurea, the only FDA approved drug for prevention of the symptoms of sickle cell anemia. He has been instrumental in the development of the prenatal diagnosis of the hemoglobinopathies. He has trained over 100 hematologists many of whom hold leading positions in pediatrics and internal medicine. His text book entitled Hematology of Infancy and Childhood is the leading text in the field. He is the author of two popular books: Genes Blood and Courage published by the Harvard University Press in 1995, and The Cancer Treatment Revolution published by John Wiley and Sons in March 2007. Dr. Nathan is a member of 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. He is the recipient of numerous awards including the National Medal of Science, the Stratton medal of the American Society of Hematology (of which he was President), The Walker Prize of the Boston Museum of Science, The John Howland medal of the American Pediatric Society, The George M. Kober Medal of the Association of American Physicians, The John Stearns Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Medicine of the New York Academy of Medicine, Harvard University Honorary Doctor of Science, The Wallace Coulter Award of the American Society of Hematology, Clarkson University Honorary Doctor of Science, The Dr. von Hauner Medal, Dr. von Hauner Children’s Hospital (Munich, Germany), Sultan Bin Khalifa Grand International Award (Abu Dhabi) and the Boston Children’s Hospital’s Inaugural Lifetime Impact Award.