2007 Gold Medal Award Recipient

Article Outline

 

Jay R. Harris, M.D., FASTRO

Tribute by Phillip M. Devlin, M.D.

Jennifer R. Bellon, M.D.

Steven A. Leibel, M.D., FASTRO

Christopher M. Rose, M.D., FASTRO

Prabhakar Tripuraneni, M.D., FASTRO

The Gold Medal is ASTRO's highest honor. It is bestowed on members who have made outstanding contributions to the field of radiation oncology, in research, clinical care, teaching and service to the specialty. Dr. Harris's distinguished career exemplifies the meaning of the word “outstanding”. He has changed the clinical management of breast cancer, affecting the lives of millions of women around the world. For 30 years, he has cared for breast cancer patients, taught and mentored residents, fellows and junior faculty and has been a world-renowned clinical researcher. As President and Chairman of the Board, Dr. Harris helped to guide ASTRO through a critical period of growth.

Dr. Harris received his B.A. degree from Cornell University and his M.A. in Statistics (under Prof. Rupert Miller) as well as his M.D. degrees from Stanford University. He trained in Radiation Oncology at the Joint Center for Radiation Therapy under Dr. Samuel Hellman and joined its faculty. He has spent his entire career in the Harvard Longwood Medical Area.

Jay Harris ranks among the pioneers in the use of breast-conserving therapy for localized breast cancer, becoming one of the fathers of modern radiation therapy for breast cancer. With 144 peer-reviewed publications, 88 reviews and chapters, and 6 books, he has comprehensively defined the standards of care for patients with early breast cancer. His textbook on breast cancer, “Diseases of the Breast”, now in its third edition, is the leading text in the field. As a Trustee of the American Board of Radiology, Jay coordinated and supervised its written and oral certification examinations in breast cancer for 10 years. He served on the President's Panel Special Commission on Breast Cancer. Dr. Harris's achievements in advancing the care of women with breast cancer have been recognized by the Gold Medal from the Gilbert Fletcher Society, the Brinker International Award for Breast Cancer Research and the 1^st Pathfinder Award in Radiation Oncology of the American Society of Breast Diseases. He was the Lynn Sage Lecturer at the 8^th Annual Lynn Sage Breast Cancer Symposium and was named one of the first Honorees at the Annual Breast Cancer Conference in Miami Florida.

Dr. Harris is known as an exemplary clinician who is dedicated to the best interests of his patients. He is not only knowledgeable about the optimal use of radiation therapy for his patients, but also about the important details related to their pathology and imaging and their best surgical and systemic therapy management. Dr. Harris assembled a multidisciplinary team to investigate and optimize the treatment of breast cancer with radiation therapy, both in its integration with other diagnostic and therapeutic modalities as well as in the technical aspects of radiation therapy delivery to enhance outcome, preserve the cosmetic result and reduce toxicity. His research has substantially contributed to the recognition of breast conservation therapy as a safe and effective treatment and has played a key role in its widespread acceptance. In a landmark prospective clinical trial Jay showed that even patients with early stage breast cancer who exhibited none of the recognized risk factors for recurrence still required radiation therapy after conservative surgery. He also led a study that defined the optimal sequencing of chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Dr. Harris was among the first to report the outcome of breast conservation therapy for ductal carcinoma in situ and on the predictors of local recurrence in this patient population. He also published an important study on the methodology for analyzing the relationship of local control to distant recurrence in breast cancer.

Dr. Harris was the Residency Program Director for the Joint Center for Radiation Therapy from 1981 to 2006 and has been the Residency Program Director of the combined Harvard Radiation Oncology Residency Program since then. He has been the mentor and teacher of more than 120 radiation oncology residents and numerous fellows who have gone on to distinguished careers. He sets high professional standards for his students and trainees. In part because of his dedication to training tomorrow's leaders in our profession, the Harvard residency program has been one of the most competitive programs in the country. Further, on his watch, Radiation Oncology has become one of the most competitive residency programs for Harvard Medical School students. He has been uniquely supportive of the academic careers of women in radiation oncology, many of who have gone on to make major contributions. As Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology at Dana-Farber Cancer Center and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Dr. Harris has recruited a highly talented faculty, and his department ranks among the most outstanding institutions in the world.

As President and Chairman of the Board, Dr. Harris guided ASTRO through the important step of establishing our Society as an independent organization. Jay also encouraged community practitioners to become involved in ASTRO leadership. He served as a Trustee of the American Board of Radiology with energy and distinction. During his term the Board approved many important reforms. Of particular note, Dr. Harris crafted and implemented the Leonard B. Holman Research Pathway for residents in Radiation Oncology and Diagnostic Radiology. This pathway was designed to encourage residents to pursue a research career, something that Jay has always considered to be critical for enhancing and perpetuating the vitality of our specialty. He has also served as a Member of the Board of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

No description of Jay Harris is complete without mentioning his wife Dr. Nancy Lee Harris, an internationally distinguished hematopathologist and Professor of Pathology at Mass General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, and their ‘boys’ Dan, who is news correspondent and Sunday evening news anchor for ABC, and Matt, who is CEO for Village Ventures, a socially conscious venture capital company.

Dr. Jay Harris clearly ranks as one of the most outstanding, research, clinical, teaching and organizational leaders of our profession. For any one of these contributions, the ASTRO Gold Medal would be very appropriate. That all this lifelong effort has come from one man, places him truly in the pantheon of our specialty and a most deserving recipient of this 2007 Gold Medal, ASTRO's highest award.