Mariann T. and Robert J. MacDonald Professor in Breast Cancer Care Excellence: Kevin R. Fox
September 4, 2007, Volume 54, No. 2	Print Issue

Dr. Kevin R. Fox, medical director of the Rena Rowan Breast Center at the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania, has been named the inaugural recipient of the Mariann T. and Robert J. MacDonald Professorship in Breast Cancer Care Excellence.

Dr. Fox exemplifies what it means to be a healer and world-class physician,” says Dr. Craig B. Thompson, director of the Abramson Cancer Center. “He is a committed researcher and a dedicated educator, as well as a caring, compassionate clinician, with a record of outstanding academic and clinical performance.”

The professorship was established through a $2 million gift from Mariann T. and Robert J. MacDonald of Naples, FL. Mrs. MacDonald, a breast cancer survivor and a 13-year patient of the Rena Rowan Breast Center, was the founder and former executive vice president of operations for Endo Pharmaceuticals. Her husband Robert is the owner of Pieces, Inc., an art and accessory firm based in Naples. “It is a rare honor to give back to an institution that helped to save your life,” said Mrs. MacDonald.  “I couldn’t be more pleased with Kevin’s formal selection as the MacDonald Professor—he’s a part of our family and truly exemplifies breast cancer care excellence.”

“It is an honor to be selected to hold the first MacDonald Professorship,” says Dr. Fox. “The visionary support of the MacDonalds will enable the Abramson Cancer Center to take another significant step toward providing new insights into the cause and treatment of breast cancer, but also help women survive and preserve a quality of life unprecedented in the history of this disease.”

Dr. Fox, a professor of medicine at Penn Medicine, earned his medical degree in 1981 from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and completed his internship and residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He also completed a fellowship in hematology/oncology at HUP. Certified in both internal medicine and hematology/oncology, Dr. Fox is a member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Dr. Fox has published more than 50 journal articles, 50 research abstracts, and 20 book chapters on the treatment of breast and other cancers. In 1997, he received the Donald B. Martin Teaching Service Award from the department of medicine at the School of Medicine and the Donna McCurdy Housestaff Teaching Award in 2001. In 2002, he was named the I.S. Ravdin Master Clinician for UPHS.

Named as one of Philadelphia magazine’s “Top Docs” since 1993, Dr. Fox has been cited as one of “America’s Best Doctors for Cancer” by several national physician surveys, including “Best Doctors in America.”