EDWARD J. BENZ, JR., M.D.


After 16 years, Dr. Edward J. Benz, Jr. retired as president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in 2017. He is now currently president and CEO Emeritus, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and a member of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Board of Directors. Edward is also the Richard and Susan Smith Professor of Medicine, Professor of Pediatrics, Professor of Pathology, and Faculty Dean, Oncology, at Harvard Medical School, as well as a member of the Governing Board of Dana-Farber/Children’s Cancer Center.

Prior to his role at Dana-Farber, Edward served as the Chairman, Department of Medicine and Sir William Osler Professor of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, as well as Physician-in-Chief at Johns Hopkins Hospital. During the course of his career, Edward was an Associate Editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, has authored more than 300 articles, books, chapters, reviews and abstracts, and has co-edited several standard medical texts.

Edward has served as President of the American Society of Hematology, the Association of American Cancer Institutes, the American Society of Clinical Investigation and the American Clinical and Climatological Association. Over the years Edward has received numerous awards including the Margaret L. Kripke Legend Award, the American Society of Hematology Mentoring Award in Basic Science, and the Leon Resnick Award for Research. Edward maintains an active research program at Dana-Farber examining the molecular basis and genetics of inherited blood disorders.