Mark Pomerantz, MD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute - Boston, Massachusetts

Dr. Pomerantz received his BA from Yale University. He continued his studies at Stanford, where he obtained his MD. He completed his training at Harvard Medical School- first as a resident in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital then as a medical oncology fellow at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He is currently a researcher at the Center for Cancer Genome Discovery at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute. He is also an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Pomerantz is extremely interested in human genetics, and felt that researching the genetics of prostate cancer would provide an excellent platform for discovery. He first became interested in prostate cancer research because he was intrigued by some of the big, unanswered questions in the field.

“Prostate cancer has a large heritable component and once the disease develops, its natural history can vary dramatically from patient to patient, largely due to the genetics of the disease and the individual,” he says, adding, “However, the underlying genetics have not been fully defined.”

Dr. Pomerantz also decided to pursue the field of prostate cancer research specifically, for the opportunity to work with his current mentor, Phil Kantoff. “His dedication to discovery and patient care made a significant impression on me during my training as a medicine resident and oncology fellow,” says Dr. Pomerantz.

In addition to his PCF Young Investigator Award, Dr. Pomerantz has been the recipient of many other honors. He received a James W. Lyons Award for Service, from Stanford University Medical School, a Harvard University Medical School Resident Teaching Award, a Tufts University Resident Teaching Award, a Young Investigator Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology, and a Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center Prostate SPORE Career Development Award. His work has appeared in ten publications, and several abstracts.

Dr. Pomerantz is married to a doctor, and has two children, ages 2 and 6 months. He enjoys spending time with his family, and because he and his wife are so busy, he jokes that “one of our personal interests is finding time to pursue personal interests.” He loves playing basketball, even competitively at times, but his work and family schedule has not afforded him much time to play as consistently. He now enjoys “picking up the ball” about once or twice a week. Although his basketball schedule has slowed down, Dr. Pomerantz has not. Between spending time with his family, and teaching, he continues to research finding a cure for prostate cancer.