Remembering Saul Rosenberg

Saul A. Rosenberg, MD, age 95, passed away on September 5th, 2022. Saul was the Maureen Lyles D’Ambrogio Professor in the School of Medicine, Emeritus, in the Division of Oncology and a member of the Stanford Cancer Institute. As Ronald Levy, MD, reflects, “He taught us all how to be better doctors and caregivers. He loved his patients.”

Saul was the founder of the Division of Medical Oncology and, during his tenure, he and his research partner, Henry Kaplan, assembled a world class group of investigators who made seminal contributions to the field of lymphoma. Saul recognized the importance of medical oncology before it was considered a formal subspecialty of internal medicine, and pioneered the idea of randomized clinical trials in lymphoma. 

Professor of Medicine and Chief of the Division of Oncology Heather Wakelee, MD, considers the wide-reaching and meaningful impacts Saul has had on the work and lives of many. She says, "Saul was truly the founding father of oncology at Stanford and his presence gave life to the division. He taught us all how to be outstanding clinicians and also how to be a family supporting each other through difficult work. We all strive to emulate his dedication to patient care, his incredible compassion and his amazing bedside manner.” Looking forward, she continues, “His legacy will live on through the many patients he treated, many of whom he cured, through the hundreds of physicians he trained, and through the ongoing work of the division he founded."

Ranjana Advani, MD, highlights the significant impacts Saul had through his mentorship of trainees like her, saying, “Saul was a giant in the field of lymphoma who led pioneering studies in the diagnosis and management of Hodgkin and non-Hodgkin lymphomas,” and “an amazing mentor who was also very humble, gentle, compassionate and caring. He influenced many generations of us who can never fill his shoes, but who can walk on the path that he bravely paved for us. He inspired and generously supported many of us as his trainees, including myself, an honor which I will never forget.” 

Within the Department of Medicine, Saul’s legacy will continue as we follow and embrace the traditions he started, including the Saturday morning (standing-room only) Hodgkin staging conference he led that was the highlight of the week for many, and the Hewlett Award program that he oversaw for many years and for which he was the first awardee in 1983. Saul will be missed dearly by all who knew him, worked with him, were taught by him and were treated by him.