Nathan
A. Berger, M.D. is the Hanna-Payne Professor of Experimental
Medicine and Director of the Center for Science, Health and Society.
He is Professor of Medicine, Biochemistry and Oncology at Case Western
Reserve University, School of Medicine.
A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
he received his A.B. from Temple University in 1962
and his M.D. from Hahnemann Medical College in 1966.
He served his internship in Medicine at Michael Reese Medical Center,
Chicago, Illinois and his residency in Medicine at Barnes Hospital, Washington
University, St. Louis, Missouri. From 1968 to 1971 he served as a Lieutenant
Commander in the United States Public Health Service and was a Research
Associate at the NIH, NICHD Gerontology Research Center, Laboratory of
Molecular Biology, Baltimore, Maryland. He subsequently completed a fellowship
in Hematology and Oncology at Washington University
School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri. In 1974 he was appointed Assistant
Professor in the Hematology/Oncology Division, Department of Medicine,
and Washington University School of Medicine and was promoted to Associate
Professor with tenure in 1979.
Dr. Berger came to Case Western Reserve
University School of Medicine as Professor of Medicine
and Biochemistry and Director of the Hematology/Oncology
Division in 1983. He built an outstanding hematology/oncology division
with research focused on cellular, biochemical, and molecular responses
to DNA damage, how these processes differ between normal and transformed
cells, how their aberrations result in cell death and malignant transformation
and how they can be modulated to enhance therapeutic strategies. With
an expanded faculty these programs have lead to the development of important
translational initiatives in carcinogenesis and developmental
therapeutics. In 1985, Dr. Berger became the founding Director of the
Case Western Reserve University/Ireland Cancer Center which was awarded
NCI Cancer Center status in 1987 and subsequently was designated an NCI
Comprehensive Cancer Center. Dr.
Berger is Principal Investigator on two major grants
funded by the National Cancer Institute; 1) CASE Center for Transdisciplinary
Research on Energetics and Cancer, and 2) Aging-Cancer Research Program
Development. He also is co-director of the Aging and Cancer Research
Program at the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center.
In 1995 Dr. Berger was
appointed Acting Dean and in 1996 he was selected to
become Dean of the Case Western Reserve University
School of Medicine and Vice President for Medical Affairs. In this position
he lead the faculty in a major curriculum revision initiative which resulted
in strengthening the CWRU organ systems approach to medical education
by further integrating basic and clinical sciences and introducing important
thematic components of genetic and preventative medicine. He also stimulated
the development and introduction of an innovative computer based electronic
curriculum at all levels of medical education and evaluation. In 2002,
he led the school through a highly successful reaccreditation review
by the Liaison Committee of Medical Education, the national board that
accredits medical schools.
During his seven year term as Dean of the CWRU
School of Medicine, Dr. Berger stimulated expansion
of basic and translational research programs at the
School of Medicine with particular emphasis on genetic and structural
biologic approaches to basic, clinical and translational research. During
his tenure as Dean, the School of Medicine consistently increased funding
from the National Institutes of Health by 9% per year and provided a
major impetus for the development of the biotechnology industry in Northeast
Ohio. With a commitment to expanding dual degree programs at the School
of Medicine, he fostered expansion of the NIH funded MD/PhD training
program at CWRU, initiated the first MD/PhD program in health services
research, and stimulated the development of an innovative Physician-Engineering
Training Program in which students earn both the M.D. degree and a Ph.D.
in biomedical engineering. Dr. Berger initiated a highly successful campaign
for capital improvements and significantly expanded the number of endowed
professorships, and garnered support for design and construction of the
Harland Wood Research Tower and the new Structural Biology Building.
Dr.
Berger is an active researcher whose laboratory focuses
on poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, DNA repair, stress
proteins, and developmental therapeutics. He is the author of over 150
papers, reviews and book chapters in the field of DNA damage and repair
and developmental therapeutics. He was on the Editorial Boards of Blood,
the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the Journal of Biological Chemistry,
Seminars in Oncology, Oncology Reports, Cancer Research and the Publications
Committee of the American Association for Cancer Research. He wrote the
chapter on Alykylating Agents in DeVita’s Practice of Oncology
and the chapter on Medical Therapy of Hematologic Malignancies in Handin,
Lux and Stossel’s
textbook on Principals and Practice of Hematology and coauthored the chapter
on Geriatric Hematology in Young, Gerson and High’s Clinical Hematology.
Dr.
Berger is a member of many professional societies including
the American Society of Hematology, American Society
of Biological Chemists, American Society of Clinical Oncology, American
Association for Cancer Research, American Society of Clinical Investigation,
and the American Association of Physicians. Dr. Berger serves on and
chairs many national peer review panels and committees for the National
Cancer Institute. He chaired the NCI Scientific Review Group Subcommittee
D for Clinical Research Program Project Grant Applications and the NCI/National
Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine Special
Emphasis Review Panel. He was on the Board of Directors
of the Association of America Cancer Institutes and served as the President
of the National Blood Club. He is active in the American Cancer Society
and serves on the Board of Trustees of The Edison Biotechnology Center.
He was Chairman of Biomedical Research Cleveland, an organization dedicated
to improving the infrastructure for support of biomedical research and
industrial development in Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. He was appointed
by Governor Taft to membership on the State of Ohio Biomedical Research
and Technology Transfer Commission. He serves on the Board of Trustees
of Montefiore, Care Alliance, the Health Museum of Cleveland, and is
a member of the Northeast Ohio Regional Public Health Directors Council,
United Way Service Community Vision Council- Strong Families=Successful
Children, the Health Leadership Council of the Cleveland Municipal School
District, the Helen Moss Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the Northeast
Ohio Breast Cancer Coalition.
Dr. Berger was named a Leukemia Society
of America Scholar and elected to Alpha Omega Alpha
Medical Honor Society. He is listed in Who’s Who in America,
Who’s Who in Medicine and Healthcare, Who’s Who in the World
as well as in Best Doctors in America. He has been
honored as a “Million
Dollar Professor” by Case Western Reserve University School of
Medicine every year since 1996, in recognition of the
grants awarded to him by the National Institutes of Health. He was inducted
into the Cleveland Medical Hall of Fame and received the American Cancer
Society, Cancer Hall of Fame, Research Award.
In 2002, Dr. Berger was
appointed the Hanna-Payne Professor of Experimental
Medicine and the first director of the Center for Science, Health and
Society, a new collaboration between CWRU and the City of Cleveland that
aims to improve the health of city residents through community outreach,
health education and health policy programs. Working
with the city and county Health Departments, Dr. Berger
has organized a series of major conferences to educate community leaders
and help them prepare for public health threats including Bioterrorism,
West Nile Virus, Hepatitis C, Smallpox Vaccination, Pandemic Influenza
and Obesity. He organized and directs
the Case Western Reserve University Mini Med School,
an adult learning series held every spring and fall featuring lectures
by nationally recognized faculty from the Case School of Medicine who
present the latest findings on a variety of important health issues. The
series is designed to help the lay public become more
informed health care consumers and better advocates for health care reform
in their own best interest.
In 2003, Dr. Berger initiated the Scientific
Enrichment and Opportunity Program designed to bring
underprivileged students from the Cleveland Metropolitan School District
into contact with faculty at the School of Medicine to engage in longitudinal
research projects under faculty tutelage during the summers after the
student’s 10th and 11th
grade years. This research experience is designed to enhance the
students’ interest in the biomedical and healthcare sciences,
provide them with unparalleled professional experience in the sciences
and bring them into contact with the SOM faculty for both academic and
career mentoring. Now entering its fifth year, the SEO program
has trained over 40 students, many of whom have gone
on to successful college careers. |
