Kenneth Offit | |
---|---|
Born | Kenneth Offit February 19, 1955 |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater |
Princeton University Harvard Medical School Harvard School of Public Health |
Known for | BRCA2 Research |
Spouse |
Emily Sonnenblick (
m. 1984) |
Awards | American Society of Clinical Oncology-American Cancer Society Award (2013) |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Cancer Genetics, Oncology, Medical Research |
Institutions | Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center |
Kenneth Offit (born February 19, 1955) is an American cancer geneticist and oncologist. 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. [1] 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. [2] He was previously a member of both the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Cancer Institute [3] and the Evaluation of Genomic Applications in Practice and Prevention working group of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. [4]
Offit has been widely recognized for his discoveries with respect to the genetic bases of breast, colorectal, and lymphoid cancers. In 2016, he was elected as a Member of the National Academy of Medicine [5] and appointed to the Roundtable on Genomics and Precision Health. [6] In 2018, he was named a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. [7] In 2021, he was elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. [8] In 2023, he received an Ellis Island Medal of Honor for his national professional and civic contributions. [9]
Offit was born in New York City on February 19, 1955, to Sidney Offit and Dr. Avodah K. Offit (née Komito). Offit attended the Browning School and then Princeton University, where he was chairman of Tiger Magazine and later a trustee on the University Board of Trustees. [10] [11] In the latter capacity, he worked closely with President William G. Bowen on issues pertaining to Princeton's residential system. [12]
After graduating magna cum laude from Princeton in 1977, Offit completed an M.D. at Harvard Medical School and an M.P.H. at the Harvard School of Public Health. [11]
In 1996, after the discovery of the BRCA2 gene, Offit 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. [3] [13] [14] [15] [16] In 2002, his clinical team published the first prospective study establishing the role of risk-reducing ovarian surgery in women carrying BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations. [17] [18] Offit's group 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. [19]
Offit was honored for his contributions to the prevention and management of cancer with the 2013 American Society of Clinical Oncology- American Cancer Society Award and Lecture. [20] [21] He is also the author of a textbook, Clinical Cancer Genetics: Risk Counseling and Management, which received an award in Medical Sciences from the Association of American Publishers. [22]
In March 2018, Offit helped launch the BRCA Founder Outreach Study, which provided free testing for three mutations for all insured people over the age of 25 with at least one grandparent of Ashkenazi heritage. [23]
In 1984, Offit married Emily Sonnenblick. Sonnenblick is a radiologist at Mount Sinai Hospital and the daughter of cardiologist Edmund Sonnenblick. [11] One of their daughters, Anna Offit, is an assistant professor of law at Southern Methodist University. [24]
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