Katz ’96, M.D., Chairs Sarcoma Symposium, Receives Research Award

In March, Steven Katz ’96, M.D., chaired the inaugural New England Sarcoma Symposium, a joint effort between the Roger Williams Cancer Center in Providence, R.I., and the Kristen Ann Carr Fund.

Additionally, Dr. Katz received the first Murray Brennan Research Award. He is the Director of Surgical Immunotherapy and Society of Surgical Oncology Fellowship Director at the Roger Williams Medical Center and assistant professor of surgery at Boston University. His clinical practice focuses on soft tissue sarcoma, gastrointestinal stromal tumor, melanoma, and liver mestastases. His prior and present research focus is on manipulating the immune system to treat patients with metastatic cancer or sarcoma.

As an undergraduate, Katz majored in biochemistry and government and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He received his MD from New York University and received the Alpha Omega Alpha Award for the top record in his class. He spent five years of general surgery training at NYU. During his general surgery residency, he spent two years studying immunology at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He then completed a two-year surgical oncology fellowship at there and was the chief administrative fellow as well as the Kristen Ann Carr Sarcoma Fellow.

Also honored at this conference was Mark Herzlich, the son of  Wesleyan alumni Sandy ’81 and Barbara Martin Herzlich ’81, who received the Sarcoma Ambassador Award.

Herzlich was selected to the 2008 All-American football team at Boston College, but in the spring of 2009 was diagnosed with Ewings Sarcoma.  In September 2009 after a long battle he announced that he was cancer free. Mark played his senior year of football in the fall of 2010 and is preparing for this month’s NFL draft.

Katz notes that the conference was a major effort to raise public awareness of a rare type of cancer that often strikes people at very young ages, as well as to highlight the academic multidisciplinary cancer center that Roger Williams Hospital offers.