 | Dr. Vincent T. DeVita Jr. |
Dr. Vincent T. DeVita Jr. has been named the Amy and Joseph Perella Professor of Medicine in recognition of his seminal and enduring contributions to cancer research and treatment.
The new chair was established in December by Joseph R. and Amy Perella -- the former, a member of the Yale Cancer Center advisory board and chair of the Institutional Securities and Investment Banking Group at Morgan Stanley; and the latter, a survivor of Hodgkin's disease.
Their gift is designed to strengthen the Yale Cancer Center's ability to develop translational research and new treatments to benefit cancer patients. Following DeVita's tenure as the Amy and Joseph Perella Professor of Medicine, the chair will be renamed the Vincent T. DeVita Professor of Medicine and will support a physician with a strong clinical research background in the treatment of cancer at Yale Cancer Center.
"I feel so fortunate that Joe and I are able to honor the man who developed a cure for the disease that I had," says Amy Perella. "Dr. DeVita has devoted his life to the examination of cancer and the development of the therapies to cure it. It is our privilege to be able to ensure the recognition of such a great physician and humanitarian."
Director of Yale Cancer Center 1993-2003, DeVita currently serves as chair of the Yale Cancer Center advisory board and is professor of internal medicine and of epidemiology and public health at the School of Medicine.
He spent the early part of his career at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and in 1980, the president of the United States appointed him as director of the NCI and the National Cancer Program, a position he held until 1988.
DeVita has earned international recognition for his accomplishments as a pioneer in the field of oncology.
While at the NCI, he was instrumental in developing combination chemotherapy programs that ultimately led to an effective regimen of curative chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease and diffuse large cell lymphomas. Along with colleagues at the NCI, he developed the four-drug combination, known by the acronym MOPP, which increased the cure rate for patients with advanced Hodgkin's disease from nearly zero to over 70%.
In addition, in collaboration with Dr. George Canellos, DeVita developed the combination chemotherapy CMF, which still remains a useful therapy for breast cancer.
DeVita earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the College of William and Mary in 1957. He was awarded his M.D. degree with distinction from the George Washington University School of Medicine in 1961.
DeVita currently serves on the editorial boards of numerous scientific journals and is the author or co-author of more than 450 scientific articles. He is one of the three editors of "Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology," and serves as the editor-in-chief of The Cancer Journal.
T H I S
Oncologist Dr. Vincent DeVita designated
the Amy and Joseph Perella Professor
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