On April 28, 2020, Dr. Paul Marks died at age 93. From 1980 until 1999, Dr. Marks was MSK’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
His New York Times obituary recalls his contributions to MSK:
Memorial Sloan Kettering’s research and hospital arms had historically been separate; Dr. Marks merged them. Within the hospital, he encouraged the creation of integrated medical teams to coordinate patient care; created a research and treatment center devoted to breast cancer; and established the first center devoted to pain management for cancer patients.
He also continued his own research while running the institution, finding genetic connections to the blood diseases known as thalassemias and developing a targeted therapy for some cancers.