Dartmouth Medicine HomeCurrent IssueAbout UsContact UsSearchPodcasts

PDF Version   Printer-Friendly Version

Page: 1 2

Faculty Focus


contribute both scientifically and clinically. The pleasure, the real joy, is being able to combine these together in the same career of a physician-scientist."

Straddling both roles can be tough, though. "The domain of the physician-scientist is often about drug discovery and development. This is a long process, and it's really hard," he told an audience two years ago when he was invited to give Dartmouth's annual Presidential Lecture. "From the moment of target identification in the laboratory, to early preclinical testing in cells and in animal models, to the three phases of trials, human trials, to final FDA approval, can take upwards of 15 years."

Dmitrovsky insists that he can't take all the credit for his lab's accomplishments and that they are largely due to the efforts of his interdisciplinary team of basic and clinical scientists, postdoctoral fellows, and students. But he puts a lot of effort into training and supporting these members of his team, from undergraduates to seasoned scientists.

"The clearest examples of Dr. Dmitrovsky's mentorship and supportive personality for me came from his invaluable help in all my research presentations at Dartmouth," recalls Desai. "On one occasion, he attended a rather unimportant undergraduate poster session on an early Saturday morning. I still remember my surprise at seeing him come by to hear my explanation of the poster the morning after he surely spent a late night in his office revising grants for postdocs and reviewing papers for major journals.

"He always pushed me to do better, to think more critically, and to practice more," continues Desai. "It is a high standard that he sets for his students, but it is one he is very prepared to help them reach. I really feel Dr. Dmitrovsky was a special sort of mentor and researcher. I was more motivated and learned more there than I have with any other research or academic experience." Kristen Garner, a pharmacology-toxicology doctoral student (as well as a regular writer for Dartmouth Medicine), is impressed that Dmitrovsky is so approachable. "He says he has an open door policy, and he really

"I really feel Dr. Dmitrovsky was a special sort of mentor and researcher. I was more motivated and learned more there than I have with any other research or academic experience."

means it," she says, noting that she and other students don't hesitate to ask for his advice. No one finds him intimidating, she adds, even though he's the head of the department.

"He has created an environment in his laboratory that's very supportive of young people," agrees former oncology fellow W. Jeffrey Petty, M.D., who worked in Dmitrovsky's lab for three years. "He really started with a blank slate with me. I had no experience in the laboratory. He taught me what I needed to learn and also created an environment in his lab where I could succeed." Petty, who was first author on the November JNCI paper, left DMS in 2005 to become an assistant professor at Wake Forest School of Medicine. Dmitrovsky has given Petty a chance to do part of the retinoid research there.

It wasn't until he left Dartmouth that Petty realized the extent of Dmitrovsky's national reputation. "Ethan is very highly regarded on a national level," he says. "Until you're away from the institution, you don't see that as clearly." That made it all the more surprising, adds Petty, that "he invested a lot of time in me and my training, helping me learn how to write grants and journal articles. It was a lot of work for him to do that." But that's a part of his job that Dmitrovsky clearly treasures. "When he was acting dean, he always enjoyed spending his time back in the lab," adds Petty. "That time I could tell was really important for him to recharge his battery, to be in the mix of the science, to come through the lab and see what was going on, keep his finger on the pulse of the science."

Dmitrovsky considers contributing to science to be one of many ways he serves the public good. Service in many forms has marked his career. As a medical student at Cornell, he volunteered for the Indian Health Service in Claremore, Okla., and for the International Rescue Committee in a refugee camp on

the Cambodian-Thai border.

After graduating from Harvard in 1976 and earning his M.D. in 1980, Dmitrovsky did his residency at New York Hospital-Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and further training at the National Cancer Institute. In 1987, he joined Sloan-Kettering, where he headed the Laboratory of Molecular Medicine. He came to Dartmouth in 1998 as the the Andrew G. Wallace Professor and the chair of pharmacology and toxicology. He has built up the department, doubling its research funding—from $4.3 million in fiscal year 1998 to $8.6 million in 2005—and increasing the size of the faculty.

He's served on the editorial boards of several major oncology journals, including the JNCI and Cancer Research, and on numerous scientific advisory panels, including at the Lance Armstrong Foundation. He was elected in 1994 to the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the preeminent organization for physician-scientists, and in 2004 to the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons. In 2005, he was invited to testify before the President's Cancer Panel about overcoming barriers to translational research. At Dartmouth, Dmitrovsky is the president's senior advisor for science and technology and a trustee of the Hitchcock Foundation. He has served on several high-level search committees and cochaired the committee that recruited Dr. Mark Israel to head the Norris Cotton Cancer Center. He's also a trustee of the Upper Valley Jewish Community.

"It's remarkable that as much as he does, and as hard as he works, that he's able to enjoy it still," says Petty.

"I think that it's a real privilege to work as a physician-scientist," Dmitrovsky says. "I'm grateful to have the career that I have and look forward to continuing to contribute. The idea of being able to use your intellectual ability to help others is really appealing."

And it's also really appealing that no matter how busy he is, he always has time for all the people in his life.


Page: 1 2

Laura Carter is the associate editor of Dartmouth Medicine Magazine.

If you'd like to offer feedback about this article, we'd welcome getting your comments at DartMed@Dartmouth.edu.

This article may not be reproduced or reposted without permission. To inquire about permission, contact DartMed@Dartmouth.edu.

Back to Table of Contents

Dartmouth Medical SchoolDartmouth-Hitchcock Medical CenterWhite River Junction VAMCNorris Cotton Cancer CenterDartmouth College