Raymond Alexanian, MD, Oral History Interview, May 15, 2014
Description
Major Topics Covered:
- Personal and educational background;
- Evolution of research on erythropoietin;
- Evolution of research and contributions to treatment of myeloma;
- History of medical education;
- History of myeloma treatment;
- Committees at MD Anderson: Research Committee, Surveillance Committee, Transfusion Task Force, Faculty Classification Committee;
- The research and cultural environment of MD Anderson under Dr. R. Lee Clark
Interview Chapters
Chapter 01: An Early Interest in Medicine: Seeking a Well-Rounded Liberal Education
Chapter 02: Medical School and a Brief History of Medical Education in the U.S.
Chapter 03: Committed to Academic Medicine
Chapter 04: Early Research on Stem Cells and Erythropoietin
Chapter 05: MD Anderson In The mid-Sixties
Chapter 06: Focusing on Myeloma and Perspectives on Myeloma Research and Treatment
Chapter 07: Myeloma: Breakthroughs with Transplant Supported Chemotherapy
Chapter 08: A Breakthrough Myeloma Treatment with Thalidomide
Chapter 09: The Challenge of Defining "Cure" in Oncology; Views of Research Approval Processes
Identifier
AlexanianR_01_20140515
Publication Date
5-15-2014
Publisher
The Making Cancer History® Voices Oral History Collection, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
City
Houston, Texas
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Topics Covered
University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, University of Texas System. M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute at Houston, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute
Disciplines
History of Science, Technology, and Medicine | Oncology | Oral History
Recommended Citation
Alexanian, Raymond MD and Rosolowski, Tacey A. PhD, "Raymond Alexanian, MD, Oral History Interview, May 15, 2014" (2014). Interview Sessions. 17.
https://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewsessions/17
Conditions Governing Access
Open
About the Interview
About the Interview Subject
Dr. Raymond Alexanian (b. 8 June 1932, Queens, New York) joined MD Anderson in 1964 as an Assistant Professor of Medicine and served as Section Chief of Myeloma for many years. He retired in 2013 and holds Emeritus status. Dr. Alexanian achieved a national reputation through his work on erythropoietin, then shifted his specialization to cancer and to myeloma. At MD Anderson he innovated combination therapies for the disease. In collaboration with Bart Barlogie, MD, PhD, he developed a treatment combining chemotherapy and stem cell transplantation. Most recently he has written on the difficulty of defining “cure” in myeloma. In 2001 he received the Waldenström Award for his work in myeloma research.