Kenneth Offit

Kenneth Offit
Born
Kenneth Offit

(1955-02-19) February 19, 1955 (age 69)
New York, New York,
United States
NationalityAmerican
Alma materPrinceton University
Harvard Medical School
Harvard School of Public Health
Known forBRCA2 Research
Spouse
Emily Sonnenblick
​
(m. 1984)​
AwardsAmerican Society of Clinical Oncology-American Cancer Society Award (2013)
Scientific career
FieldsCancer Genetics, Oncology, Medical Research
InstitutionsMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Kenneth Offit (born February 19, 1955) is an American cancer geneticist and oncologist known for his discoveries with respect to the genetic bases of breast, colorectal, and lymphoid cancers.[1] He is currently Chief of the Clinical Genetics Service and the Robert and Kate Niehaus Chair in Inherited Cancer Genomics at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.[2] Offit is also a member of the Program in Cancer Biology and Genetics at the Sloan-Kettering Institute and Professor of Medicine and Healthcare Policy and Research at Weill Cornell Medical College.[3] He was previously a member of both the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Cancer Institute[4] and the Evaluation of Genomic Applications in Practice and Prevention working group of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.[5]

Offit has garnered numerous honors for his contributions to the prevention and management of cancer. In 2013, he was selected for the American Society of Clinical Oncology-American Cancer Society Award and Lecture.[6][7] In 2016, he was elected as a Member of the National Academy of Medicine[1] and appointed to the Roundtable on Genomics and Precision Health.[8] In 2018, he was named a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.[9] In 2021, he was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.[10] In 2023, he was awarded University of Pennsylvania's Basser Global Prize for BRCA1 and BRCA2-related research[11] and an Ellis Island Medal of Honor for his national professional and civic contributions.[12]

Early life and education[edit]

Offit was born in New York City on February 19, 1955, to Dr. Avodah K. Offit (née Komito), a psychiatrist, and Sidney Offit, an author.[13] Offit attended the Browning School and then Princeton University, where he was chairman of the campus humor magazine, Tiger Magazine.[14] He graduating magna cum laude in 1977 and joined the University Board of Trustees as a young alumni trustee.[13] In this capacity, he worked closely with President William G. Bowen on issues pertaining to Princeton's residential system.[15] In 1979, Offit voted to endorse the proposals of the Committee on Undergraduate Residential Life (CURL) that would become the basis for Princeton's current residential college system.[16] Offit and other trustees would further propose that residential colleges be expanded to include upperclassmen who had not joined a selective eating club—a reform that, with some modification, would be adopted decades later.[15]

After finishing his undergraduate degree, Offit completed an M.D. at Harvard Medical School and an M.P.H. at the Harvard School of Public Health.[13] He then returned to New York for a residency in internal medicine at the Lenox Hill Hospital. Upon finishing the residency in 1985, he moved to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center for a three-year fellowship in hematology and oncology.[13][17]

Career and research[edit]

Offit joined the faculty at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center upon the completion of his fellowship in 1988.[18] His early work involved molecular cytogenetic studies of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.[18]

In 1992, Offit founded one of the world's first clinical cancer genetics services.[11] In 1996, after the discovery of the BRCA2 gene, he and his research group successfully identified the most common mutation on the gene associated with breast and ovarian cancer among individuals of Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry.[4][19][20] [21][22] Offit would also lead the first American Society of Clinical Oncology policy statement following the identification of BRCA1 and BRCA2.[11] In 1997, he wrote Clinical Cancer Genetics: Risk Counseling and Management, which received an award in Medical Sciences from the Association of American Publishers.[23]

In 2002, Offit and his clinical team published the first prospective study establishing the role of risk-reducing ovarian surgery in women carrying BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations.[24][25] They would go on to discover or describe recurrent mutations causing increased risk for colon and prostate cancer, and, in 2013 and 2015, they described two genetic syndromes of inherited childhood lymphoblastic leukemia.[26]

In 2018, Offit joined Beth Karlan, Judy Garber, Susan Domchek, and other physicians to launch the BRCA Founder Outreach Study (BFOR). BFOR provided free testing for three mutations for all insured people over the age of 25 with at least one grandparent of Ashkenazi heritage.[27] Offit called BFOR "a model for the future of genetic testing in health care"—one that would, in contrast to direct-to-consumer genetics testing, allow participants to receive results from their primary care provider.[28]

Personal Life[edit]

In 1984, Offit married Emily Sonnenblick. Sonnenblick is a radiologist at Mount Sinai Hospital and the daughter of cardiologist Edmund Sonnenblick.[13] One of their daughters, Anna Offit, is an assistant professor of law at Southern Methodist University.[29]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "National Academy of Medicine Elects 79 New Members". National Academy of Medicine. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  2. ^ "Kenneth Offit | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center". Mskcc.org. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  3. ^ "Offit, Kenneth". Vivo.med.cornell.edu. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Kenneth Offit | Breast Cancer Research Foundation | BCRF". Bcrfcure.org. June 23, 2014. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  5. ^ "EGAPP|Working Group: Members". Egappreviews.org. Archived from the original on August 6, 2015. Retrieved July 16, 2015.
  6. ^ "Three Memorial-Sloan Kettering Researchers Receive Special Awards by the American Society of Clinical Oncology | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center". Mskcc.org. May 22, 2013. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  7. ^ "ASCO - American Cancer Society Award and Lecture". Asco.org. Archived from the original on July 20, 2015.
  8. ^ www.nationalacademies.org https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/roundtable-on-genomics-and-precision-health/about#members. Retrieved March 27, 2024. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  9. ^ "2018 Fellows of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (FASCO) Recognized During Annual Meeting in Chicago". The ASCO Post. June 3, 2018. Retrieved January 23, 2020.
  10. ^ "Three Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Faculty Members Elected as 2021 AAAS Fellows | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center". www.mskcc.org. January 27, 2022. Retrieved September 1, 2022.
  11. ^ a b c "2023 Basser Global Prize Awarded to Kenneth Offit, MD, MPH". www.pennmedicine.org. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  12. ^ "EIHS Medalists". medalists.eihonors.org. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  13. ^ a b c d e "Dr. Emily Sonnenblick Weds in Darien". The New York Times. June 11, 1984. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  14. ^ Princeton Alumni Weekly. Princeton Alumni Weekly. 1976. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  15. ^ a b Malkiel, Nancy Weiss (November 14, 2023). Changing the Game: William G. Bowen and the Challenges of American Higher Education. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-24781-6.
  16. ^ "1. Introduction | Princetoniana Museum". www.princetonianamuseum.org. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  17. ^ "Dr. Kenneth Offit - Medical Oncology - New York, NY". Castle Connolly. Retrieved April 26, 2024.
  18. ^ a b "Member Bios|Working Group|EGAPP|CDC". archive.cdc.gov. November 19, 2018. Retrieved April 27, 2024.
  19. ^ "A revolution at 50; kenneth offit". The New York Times. February 25, 2003. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 2, 2015.
  20. ^ "20 Years of Progress in Understanding Breast Cancer" (JPG). Mskcc.org. Retrieved July 17, 2015.
  21. ^ Kolata, Gina (October 2, 1996). "2d Breast Cancer Gene Found in Jewish Women". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  22. ^ "Why Choose MSK's Clinical Genetics Service for Genetic Counseling and Testing? | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center". www.mskcc.org. Retrieved April 6, 2024.
  23. ^ "Kenneth Offit, MD, MPH - DANA FARBER Master Class Courses for Oncologists". Dfcimasterclass.com. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  24. ^ Kauff, Noah D.; Satagopan, Jaya M.; Robson, Mark E.; Scheuer, Lauren; Hensley, Martee; Hudis, Clifford A.; Ellis, Nathan A.; Boyd, Jeff; Borgen, Patrick I.; Barakat, Richard R.; Norton, Larry; Castiel, Mercedes; Nafa, Khedoudja; Offit, Kenneth (May 23, 2002). "Risk-Reducing Salpingo-oophorectomy in Women with a BRCA1 or BRCA2 Mutation". New England Journal of Medicine. 346 (21): 1609–1615. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa020119. ISSN 0028-4793. PMID 12023992.
  25. ^ "Dr. Kenneth Offit Receives ASCO-ACS Award for Genomic Discoveries, Larger Social Implications Regarding Cancer Risk | ASCO Annual Meeting". web.archive.org. October 21, 2014. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
  26. ^ "Another Genetic Error Linked to Childhood Leukemia: MedlinePlus". Nlm.nih.gov. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  27. ^ Dolsten, Josefin (March 14, 2018). "New study on cancer risk in Ashkenazi Jews aims to be model for genetic testing". The Times of Israel.
  28. ^ Dolsten, Josefin (March 14, 2018). "New Study Of Ashkenazi Cancer Gene Could Be A Model For Genetic Testing". The Forward.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  29. ^ "Anna C. Offit". Southern Methodist University, Dedman School of Law.
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