Richard I. Fisher, MD, Named President and CEO of Fox Chase Cancer Center

Richard I. Fisher, MDPHILADELPHIA, PA (July 29, 2013)—Richard I. Fisher, MD, a leading cancer center administrator and nationally recognized hematology/oncology expert who joined Temple Health on March 1, 2013, has been appointed President and CEO of Fox Chase Cancer Center. Fisher will also hold the title of Cancer Center Director of Fox Chase, serving as the principal investigator on the Cancer Center Support Grant (CCSG) from the National Cancer Institute. He will retain the title of Senior Associate Dean for Cancer Programs at Temple University School of Medicine.

“The Health System as a whole is fortunate to be able to draw on Dr. Fisher’s clear capabilities as a cancer center administrator, clinician, and research investigator to lead Fox Chase Cancer Center,” says Larry R. Kaiser, MD, FACS, Senior Executive Vice President for Health Sciences at Temple University, Dean of Temple University School of Medicine; and President and CEO of Temple University Health System. “In his new roles, he will play a vital part in sustaining our forward momentum and help us maximize the opportunities offered by the affiliation of Fox Chase with Temple University Health System.”

Since his arrival, Kaiser noted, Fisher has demonstrated extraordinarily adroit and sure-handed leadership and administrative ability, working closely with leaders at Fox Chase and across Temple Health. He has helped to advance a positive and forward-looking perspective that will help to reinvigorate clinical and scientific cancer programs and to launch vital faculty recruitment efforts.  

“Dr. Fisher’s leadership style combines the steadiness and vision needed for the Cancer Center to thrive and grow even stronger,” says Lewis F. Gould Jr., Chair of the Fox Chase Cancer Center Boards of Directors. “His appointment as Fox Chase Cancer Center’s new President and CEO is welcome good news for all of us, most especially for our patients.”

Before joining Fox Chase and Temple Health, Fisher was Vice President for Strategic and Program Development at the University of Rochester Medical Center and the Samuel E. Durand Professor of Medicine. For the previous 11 years, he served as Director of the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and Director of Cancer Services for the Strong Health System in Rochester, NY.

Fisher earned his undergraduate degree in chemistry and physics at Harvard University before obtaining his MD, cum laude, from Harvard Medical School in 1970.  From 1970-1972, he was an intern and resident at Massachusetts General Hospital.  Highlights among his many subsequent clinical and scientific postings include: immunology and oncology fellowships at the National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD, from 1972-1975; Director of the Cardinal Bernardin Cancer Center at Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine from 1984-2001; Director of the Hematology/Oncology Division at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry (URSMD) from 2001-2009; and Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs and Director of the Rochester Medical Faculty Group at URSMD from 2008-2011. He also served as principal investigator for a Lymphoma SPORE (Specialized Program of Research Excellence) grant.

Over his career, Fisher has also held a number of important leadership positions in oncology at the national level—including Chair of the Lymphoma Committee of the Southwest Oncology Group (SWOG) from 1985-2013; Deputy Group Chair of SWOG from 2005-present; and Chair of the Lymphoma Research Foundation Scientific Advisory Board from 2008-2010.  He also has served as a member of the Board of Scientific Advisors for the V Foundation from 2003-present, a member of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) Lymphoma Steering Committee from 2009-present, and Chair of the NCI Specialized Programs of Research Excellence (SPORE) review committee in 2010.

Fox Chase Cancer Center (Fox Chase), which includes the Institute for Cancer Research and the American Oncologic Hospital and is a part of Temple Health, is one of the leading comprehensive cancer centers in the United States. Founded in 1904 in Philadelphia as one of the nation’s first cancer hospitals, Fox Chase was also among the first institutions to be designated a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center in 1974. Fox Chase is also one of just 10 members of the Alliance of Dedicated Cancer Centers. Fox Chase researchers have won the highest awards in their fields, including two Nobel Prizes. Fox Chase physicians are also routinely recognized in national rankings, and the Center’s nursing program has received the Magnet recognition for excellence six consecutive times. Today, Fox Chase conducts a broad array of nationally competitive basic, translational, and clinical research, with special programs in cancer prevention, detection, survivorship, and community outreach. It is the policy of Fox Chase Cancer Center that there shall be no exclusion from, or participation in, and no one denied the benefits of, the delivery of quality medical care on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression, disability, age, ancestry, color, national origin, physical ability, level of education, or source of payment.

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