Benacerraf Donates Library to Dana-Farber Cancer Center Institute

Nobel Laureate and former president of Dana-Farber gives memorabilia, journals, and other materials

Nobel laureate Baruj Benacerraf has made tremendous contributions to science with both his research and the many minds he has trained.

Recently, he made yet another contribution with the donation of his valuable library collection to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Benacerraf, former chair of the Medical School's Department of Pathology as well as the George Fabyan Professor of Comparative Pathology Emeritus and president of Dana-Farber emeritus, considers his students to be his greatest legacy, so it is fitting that he has found a way to continue teaching, said former student and colleague Steven Burakoff.

"This will carry what he stood for and what he lived for into perpetuity," said Burakoff, professor of pediatrics and chair of the Department of Pediatric Oncology.

The gift includes journals and reviews, Nobel memorabilia, and other significant awards. They will be kept at the new Baruj Benacerraf Library on the third floor of the Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Research Laboratories.

"This tremendous gift will offer the public access to a significant collection amassed by a brilliant scientist and leader," said Library Director Christine Fleuriel.

The library was dedicated in February during a small ceremony.

Benacerraf encouraged the opening of a library when he first came to Dana-Farber in 1980. Benacerraf said he knew that if Dana-Farber was to become a significant institution, it needed a good library.

"The library is the heart and memory of an institution," he said at the dedication. "I consider this to be the greatest distinction I've ever received."

A Lifetime of Dedication

Benacerraf, of Spanish-Jewish ancestry, was born in Venezuela. He was the eldest son of a successful textile merchant who hoped he would join the family business. Benacerraf, however, preferred science to fabric.

At first, because of ethnic and cultural bias, Benacerraf had a hard time getting into medical school. Finally, he found acceptance at the Medical College of Virginia.

Intellectual curiosity led Benacerraf to choose research when such a choice was not fashionable, he said. He was interested in immunology, particularly the mechanism of hypersensitivity. As a child, while suffering from bronchial asthma, he had developed a deep curiosity about allergies.

He was the director of the Laboratory of Immunology of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease when he moved to Harvard Medical School in 1970, where he was chair of the Department of Pathology for 21 years and the George Fabyan Professor of Comparative Pathology.

In 1980, he became the president of Dana-Farber, a position he held until 1992. He was also president of Dana-Farber Inc. from 1991 to January 1996.

Throughout his career Benacerraf has won the admiration of colleagues and students.

"He had very high standards, but you knew he cared," said Burakoff. "What was extraordinary about his lab was that there was a clear and simple set of expectations: you would do important research."

Benacerraf's own research provided a foundation for most of modern immunology. He discovered that genetic factors play a primary role in determining the strength of an individual's immune system. His work opened the door to new approaches for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, the prevention of organ graft rejection, and innovative treatments for cancer.

His discovery was honored in 1980 with the Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine.

"You can tell a great scientist by what he chooses not to do," said Emil Frei III, physician-in-chief emeritus. "Dr. Benacerraf has the capacity to identify the kernel of the problem and solve problems that are of major importance."

Leading the Institute

As president, Benacerraf's goal was to foster the development of therapeutic approaches to cure cancer based on discoveries in the laboratory. He oversaw major advances in combined chemotherapy and radiotherapy. At the same time, his administrative and fund-raising expertise secured long-term financial stability for the Institute, which was, Frei recalls, "relatively poor at the time."

Vice chair of the board of trustees Vincent O'Reilly said when he first met Benacerraf he expected to meet "an individual of great intellect and scientific acumen."

"My expectations were met, but what surprised me was how open he was to new ideas from a business perspective and how adept a businessman he was," said O'Reilly, chairman during much of Benacerraf's presidency.

Under Benacerraf's leadership the Institute grew in many ways, including the addition of two buildings -- most recently the Richard A. and Susan F. Smith Laboratories. Benacerraf played a key role in designing and completing the 14-floor building devoted to research.

"He took the Institute from its adolescence into its adulthood and pulled all the pieces together," O'Reilly said.