Lawrence J. (Larry) Solin, emeritus professor clinician-educator in radiation oncology at the Perelman School of Medicine who also spent many years with Penn’s Abramson Cancer Center, died on March 3. He was 66.

Dr. Solin earned his BS from Brown University in 1975 and his MD from Brown in 1978. Dr. Solin did his fellowship and was a staff radiation oncologist at Fox Chase Cancer Center 1984-1992. He also joined Penn in 1984 as an assistant professor on the clinician educator track in radiation therapy (which later became radiation oncology) (Almanac February 26, 1985). He went on to be promoted to associate and then full professor C-E in 1994 (Almanac February 14, 1995). He made several Best Doctors in America lists during his time at Penn and also served on the Faculty Senate. He retired and earned emeritus status in 2008 (Almanac May 26, 2009). 

While at Penn, he also served on the staff at various hospitals, including Frankford Hospital, Mercer Medical Center, Suburban General, Germantown Hospital and Medical Center and the VA Hospital. He was also a volunteer faculty member at Thomas Jefferson University.

Dr. Solin went on to join the staff at Einstein Hospital, where he served as department chair in radiation oncology. He was a major contributor to the ECOG-ACRIN national trials that defined the standards of care for breast cancer. He played a career-long role in defining the evidence to define the role of radiation therapy to increase cure rates. His work was published in high-profile journals, including the New England Journal of Medicine. He was an active leader in the NCI Cooperative National Groups and a longtime grantee of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Angela DeMichele, co-leader of the ACC Breast Cancer Program, reflected upon Larry’s impact, saying, “We are all beneficiaries of his sound advice and thoughtful academic insights. He was a fantastic clinician, mentor and colleague.”

According to an email sent by James Metz, Henry K Pancoast Professor and chair of radiation oncology: “[Dr. Solin] trained innumerable residents at Penn before he left to become chair at Einstein. Larry impacted the treatment of breast cancer on an international scale and was an important member of many of the breast committees nationally. He was a detailed researcher and left an incredible impact on all that worked with him over the years. Larry was a great mentor and worked closely with many of us developing research careers in radiation oncology. He was certainly one of those people you never forget, as all of us who worked with him have stories over the years that have become legendary in the department. He was one of the giants that influenced the department and radiation oncology as a whole.”

Dr. Solin is survived by his wife, Leslie; daughters Jennifer and Elizabeth; and a grand-daughter.