Bernard Levin, MD, Oral History Interview, May 31, 2013
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Description
Major Topics Covered:
- Research: collaborative international projects
- Section of Gastro-intestinal Medical Oncology; expanding;
Identifier
LevinB_03_20130531
Publication Date
5-31-2013
Publisher
The Historical Resources Center, Research Medical Library, The University of Texas 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
Levin, Bernard and Rosolowski, Tacey A. PhD, "Bernard Levin, MD, Oral History Interview, May 31, 2013" (2013). Interview Sessions. 274.
https://openworks.mdanderson.org/mchv_interviewsessions/274
Conditions Governing Access
Redacted
About the Interview
Original Interview Profile #33: Bernard Levin, M.D. Submitted by: Tacey A. Rosolowski, Ph.D.
Date revised: 1 December 2014
This interview with Bernard Levin, M.D. (b. Johannesburg, South Africa, April 1, 1942) takes place over six session in 2013 (approximately 10 hours total). Dr. Levin was recruited to MD Anderson in 1984 to join the faculty as a Professor of Medicine and to establish a new Section of Gastrointestinal Oncology. He served as Chair of the Department of Gastrointestinal Medical Oncology and Digestive Diseases until 1994 when he was appointed Vice President for Cancer Prevention and Population Sciences. From 1994 to 2007, when he retired, Dr. Levin also held the Betty B. Marcus Chair in Cancer Prevention. He now holds the title of Professor Emeritus and lives in New York City. The first three sessions take place in New York; the remainder takes place via telephone. Tacey A. Rosolowski, Ph.D. is the interviewer.
Dr. Levin was awarded his M.B., B.Ch. (the equivalent of the M.D.) from the University of Witwatersrand Medical School, Johannesburg, South Africa in 1964. In 1965 he undertook his internships in both surgery and medicine at Johannesburg General Hospital, University of Witwatersrand. He then emigrated to the United States, where he continued with a medical internship at Northwestern University Medical Center in Chicago, Illinois (’66). He did his Residency in Internal Medicine at the Rush-Presbyterian-St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago (‘66 to ’68). Dr. Levin then held a USPHS Special Research Fellowship (National Institute of General Medical Sciences) in the Department of Pathology at the University of Chicago (‘68- ’71). From 1970-1971 he was a Clinical Fellow in Gastroenterology at the University of Chicago Medical Center, then undertook an NIH Training Fellowship in Gastroenterology at that institution from ’71-’72. Dr. Levin then joined the faculty of the University of Chicago (‘72-’84). He was progressively Assistant Professor and then Associate Professor (with tenure) in the Section of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, and simultaneously held an appointment as Director of the Gastrointestinal Oncology Clinic. Prior to taking on the role as Vice President of the Division of Cancer Prevention, Dr. Levin’s research focused on identifying markers that enable early detection of colorectal cancer and the management of polyposis, as well as surgical adjuvant therapies and chemo-preventative treatments. As Vice President, he had an increasingly public role in raising awareness about prevention. In 1996, he was a guest speaker at the White House under the Clinton administration, discussing “New Efforts to Promote Colon Cancer Prevention”: he testified before Congress on screening initiatives in 2000. Dr. Levin has been widely honored, receiving the 2004 American Cancer Society Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO). That same year he received the American Society of Preventive Oncology Distinguished Achievement Award. In 2007, MD Anderson honored him with the Charles A. LeMaistre, MD Outstanding Achievement Award in Cancer.
In this interview Dr. Levin speaks about the early evolution of his interest in translational research, a commitment that enabled him to create multi-disciplinary connections as he assumed increasingly prominent administrative roles. He discusses many dimensions of leadership as he explains how MD Anderson created an entirely new dimension of the cancer center –the Division of Cancer Prevention—and what this new initiative has meant to the institution. He talks about his work setting up study groups that would stimulate work on gastrointestinal cancers and early screening –two voids in the field when entered. He also discusses his work stimulating public awareness of colorectal cancer. Ethical issues are also a recurring theme in this interview: Dr. Levin discusses the development of his political conscience in South Africa, as he observed the social and medical impact of apartheid. He offers views on social justice issues after coming to the United States in the sixties, and also comments on conflict of interest and nepotism that affect medical institutions.