Summer 2026
By Cait Roberts
Photography by Bryce Vickmark
Earlier detection. Better treatments. More time with loved ones. Breakthroughs in cancer care don’t happen by chance—they’re driven by exceptional faculty pursuing bold ideas. Endowed faculty gifts including named chairs, endowed chief roles, and investigatorships at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and professorships endowed at Harvard Medical School that are designated for Dana-Farber faculty, provide lasting support for scientific leadership. For donors, endowing a faculty position is a special way to establish a legacy for themselves or a loved one and to sustain in perpetuity the work of experts making a profound impact on cancer medicine.
With reliable funding in place, faculty incumbents can focus less on securing grants and more on pursuing the high-risk, high-reward research that changes lives. These prestigious roles also help us recruit and retain world-renowned experts who drive progress, and allow faculty members to mentor and train the next generation of career scientists.
Currently, Dana-Farber has 67 endowed positions for mid-career to senior-level faculty. In the first part of this year, three gifts that established Dana-Farber endowed chairs were announced: the Larry and Susan Marx Chair for Early Detection, held by Sapna Syngal, MD, MPH; the Perini Family Chair in Survivorship, held by Lisa Diller, MD; and the Robert F. Tannenhauser Chair for Waldenström’s Research, held by Steven Treon, MD, PhD.
“The Bing Center for Waldenström’s Macroglobulinemia (WM) was built upon the tremendous support of patients who wanted to see progress made in this rare cancer. Its legacy now includes the discovery of the genomic mutations that underlie WM, and the development of new, targeted therapies that have dramatically enhanced survival,” said Treon. “The Robert F. Tannenhauser Chair builds upon this legacy by enabling us to understand WM predisposition, including the genomic events within families that have multiple cases of WM. This will permit us to identify individuals at risk, as well as focus on developing preventative strategies for this rare cancer.”
Endowed positions are built to endure, supporting not only today’s faculty leaders, but also the outstanding experts who will follow them. For instance, established in 2016, the George P. Canellos, MD, and Jean S. Canellos Professorship in Medicine at Harvard Medical School is designated for Dana-Farber’s Chair of Medical Oncology. It was first held by Benjamin L. Ebert, MD, PhD, currently president and CEO of Dana-Farber. Alice Shaw, MD, PhD, now holds the position, ensuring continued leadership and momentum in medical oncology.
“Endowed support enables Dana-Farber faculty to push the boundaries of what is possible in cancer medicine, accelerating discoveries today that improve the lives of patients for decades to come,” said Shaw.
Endowed positions also create the ability to honor those who believe in the work of faculty and have chosen to make a gift to recognize that dedication. Due to the sustainable nature of endowed gifts, Dana-Farber can make strides and advancements that continue over decades, including support and education for cancer survivors and their families.
“Knowing that we have donors who believe in our work as much as we do and support us with their funding is critical,” said Diller. “Engagement through generous support of endowments propels our research forward and assures that our patients receive the highest quality of care possible. Together, we are able to make a true difference, with tangible results.”