Visionary mentor and recruiter
Another of Nathan's priorities — carried over from his years at Children's — has been the training of young physicians and researchers, particularly those known as "clinical investigators," whose expertise in both basic science and clinical medicine is crucial for converting laboratory findings into new treatments. Nathan's efforts in this area led the NIH to create a program to fund the mentoring and training of such individuals.
"David comes very close to being a Renaissance man — closer than anybody I know...Some of us play one key at a time. He plays the piano and brings all of us together."
— Emil Frei III, M.D. physician-in-chief emeritus
His contributions to the Institute extend even further. He is, for example, a tenacious and exceptionally effective recruiter of scientific talent. "He recruits families, not individual people," says Janet Cameron, who has worked with Nathan as an administrative assistant for six years. "He makes the spouse feel he or she is also wanted by the community." The impressive list of researchers and physicians who joined the Institute during Nathan's tenure is testimony to his persuasiveness.
Nathan brought the same intensity to fundraising efforts, leading to a doubling of gifts to the Institute from $30 million to nearly $60 million annually during his tenure. Stanley Korsmeyer, M.D., of the Institute's Department of Cancer Immunology and AIDS, enjoys recounting an incident that illustrates his success in this area.
During Nathan's tenure, the number of patients participating in clinical trials has significantly increased. He describes Dana-Farber and DF/HCC as "vibrant and filled with a sense of mission." His leadership enhanced the mission on many fronts.
"We were in New York City to meet with representatives of the Arthur and Rochelle Belfer Foundation for a $5 million grant for molecular research," Korsmeyer recalls. "I thought it was a hopeless cause going down there because Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center [in New York] was our competition. David, on the other hand, was eager to get started and had a pledge for the grant before we left the room."
The diversity of Nathan's contributions to the Institute astonishes his colleagues. "David comes very close to being a Renaissance man — closer than anybody I know," says Dana-Farber Physician-in-Chief emeritus Emil Frei III, M.D. "He understands research, he's done research, and most particularly he recognizes people who can do good research. He brings them together, integrates them, and focuses them on a problem. If there is an area he doesn't know particularly well, he recruits the right person in that area. Some of us play one key at a time. He plays the piano and brings all of us together."
