A Tribute From Prof Tim Eisen:
Remembering His ‘Extraordinary
Array of Talents’
I first met Martin when I was being
interviewed for a junior doctor’s job
at the Royal Marsden Hospital in
London. Martin’s sense of humor and
infectious enthusiasm were immediately
obvious. It took me a little longer
to recognize his extraordinary array of
talents: Martin combined great selfconfidence
with a real sensitivity for
how others felt, clear and decisive
thinking and a penetrating intelligence.
One of Martin’s most endearing traits was his ability
to laugh at himself. After any ludicrous or embarrassing
event, there would always be a theatrical and exaggerated
rendition which entertained and instructed.
Nobody should have been fooled by the stream of wit
and humor. Martin could be as direct and firm as the
situation demanded. Martin made an international
impact in ovarian cancer, melanoma and renal cancer.
He was a long-serving and extremely successful
Medical Director of the Royal Marsden Hospital and
in recent years, he took leading roles advising the UK
government on tricky subjects such as gene therapy,
biological security and enquiries into healthcare
failings in the NHS.
Martin was fabulously loyal to the Marsden. Two
things rang particularly true about the press coverage
of Martin’s death; the first was a description of him as
the beating heart of the Marsden and the second was
that, when the terrible news spread, many of the
cleaning staff were in tears. Martin appreciated everybody
who was part of the Marsden; his authenticity
as a leader was palpable and people loved him for it.
What do I miss most about Martin? I miss the
friendship of this funny, brilliant, kind and unforgettable
man.
Tim Eisen
Professor of Medical Oncology
University of Cambridge and Vice President
Oncology Early Clinical Projects
AstraZeneca
Kidney Cancer Journal 7
Michael B. Atkins, MD
Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center
Professor of Oncology and Medicine,
Georgetown University Medical Center-
Washington, DC
Arie Belldegrun, MD
David Geffen School of Medicine
at UCLA
Los Angeles, California
Steven Campbell, MD
Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Cleveland, Ohio
Toni K. Choueiri, MD
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Harvard Medical School
Boston, Massachusetts
Janice P. Dutcher, MD
Associate Director, Cancer Research
Foundation of New York
Chappaqua, New York
Timothy Eisen, MD
University of Cambridge
Department of Oncology,
Addenbrooke's Hospital
Cambridge, UK
Paul Elson, PhD
Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Cleveland, Ohio
Bernard Escudier, MD
Institut Gustave-Roussy
Villejuif, France
James H. Finke, PhD
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of
Medicine of Case Western Reserve
University
Cleveland, Ohio
Keith T. Flaherty, MD
Lecturer, Department of Medicine,
Harvard Medical School
Director of Developmental
Therapeutics, Cancer Center
Massachusetts General Hospital
Boston, Massachusetts
Daniel J. George, MD
Duke Clinical Research Institute
Durham, North Carolina
Inderbir S. Gill, MD
USC Institute of Urology
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California
Martin Gore, MD
Royal Marsden Hospital
London, UK
Gary Hudes, MD
Fox Chase Cancer Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Thomas Hutson, DO, PharmD
Baylor University Medical Center
Dallas, Texas
Eric Jonasch, MD
MD Anderson Cancer Center
of the University of Texas
Houston, Texas
Eugene D. Kwon, MD
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, Minnesota
Bradley C. Leibovich, MD
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, Minnesota
David Nanus, MD
New York Presbyterian Hospital-
Weill Cornell Medical Center
New York, New York
Leslie Oleksowicz, MD
College of Medicine
University of Cincinnati
Medical Center
Cincinnati, Ohio
Allan Pantuck, MD
David Geffen School of Medicine
at UCLA
Los Angeles, California
W. Kimryn Rathmell, MD, PhD
Director, Division of Hematology
Oncology
Professor, Department of Clinical
Medicine and Cancer Biology
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, Tennessee
Paul Russo, MD
Memorial Sloan-Kettering
Cancer Center
New York, New York
Ihor S. Sawczuk, MD
Hackensack University
Medical Center
Hackensack, New Jersey
Domenic A. Sica, MD
Medical College of Virginia
Richmond, Virginia
Jeffrey A. Sosman, MD
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center
Nashville, Tennessee
Nicholas J. Vogelzang, MD
Comprehensive Cancer Centers
of Nevada
Las Vegas, Nevada
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
EDITOR’S MEMO
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Professor Tim Eisen