Members of the Fox Chase Cancer Center community gathered on January 21, 2025 for the Paul J. Grotzinger, MD, Memorial Lecture.
“A Fox Chase tradition, revered for many years, the Grotzinger Lecture honors both our Center’s history of research achievement and our tradition of visionary leadership,” noted Jeffrey Farma, MD, FACS, Chair, Department of Surgery at Fox Chase. “The lecture’s namesake is regarded as an integral figure in the early development of Fox Chase Cancer Center, and this lecture allows us to host notable leaders in the world of cancer research.”
The 2025 lecture featured invited guest speaker Carol J. Swallow, MD, PhD, FRCS(C), FACS, who presented “Per aspera ad astra: Conquering a rare cancer through aspirational teamwork.”
Dr. Swallow is the RS McLaughlin Professor and Chair of the Department of Surgery at the University of Toronto. She is a surgical oncologist at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre and a member of the Division of General Surgery at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. Her areas of clinical expertise include retroperitoneal sarcoma, gastrointestinal stromal tumor, gastric cancer, and rectal cancer. Her laboratory research focuses on mechanisms of tumor invasion and metastasis.
Paul J. Grotzinger, MD, became Chief of Surgery in 1960 at what was then called American Oncologic Hospital—the clinical predecessor to Fox Chase Cancer Center. He continued in this role after AOH joined with the Institute for Cancer Research in 1974 to form Fox Chase Cancer Center and was instrumental in helping to lead Fox Chase in earning its designation by the National Cancer Institute as a Comprehensive Cancer Center that same year.
Dr. Grotzinger also served as Medical Director at Fox Chase from 1974 to 1982 and as Vice President for Medical Affairs from 1975 to 1986. From 1963 to 1977, he was Chief of Surgery at then-Jeanes Hospital and served as President of the Jeanes medical staff from 1976 to 1980.
The Grotzinger Lecture has been endowed by Dr. Grotzinger’s family in his memory and is designed to enrich the intellectual life of the Center by bringing distinguished visitors to speak in areas of clinical interest.
“Dr. Grotzinger was a champion for the integration of research with clinical care—a core ideal of our mission at Fox Chase and something that underscores the longtime spirit of collaboration for which we are known,” said Dr. Farma.