The Basser Professorship in Oncology

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Mindy and Jon Gray created the Basser Professorship of Oncology as part of their gift to establish the Basser Center for BRCA in 2012. Both the Chair and the Center are named in honor of Mindy sister, Faith Basser, who died of BRCA-related ovarian cancer at age 44, leaving behind her four-year-old son.

The Basser Center for BRCA is the first comprehensive center for the research, treatment, and prevention of BRCA-related cancers. The Center supports women and men with BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene mutations, placing them at heightened risk for developing certain cancers including breast, ovarian, prostate, and pancreatic.

Both Mindy C’92 and Jon Gray C’92 W’92 are alumni of the University and have continually supported their alma mater. Jon Gray is President and Chief Operating Officer of Blackstone and is a member of Blackstone’s Board of Directors. Mindy is the Board Chair of the Basser Center Advisory Board, a member of both the Penn Medicine Board and the Penn Medicine Development Leadership Cabinet, and an Emeritus member of the Abramson Cancer Center Director’s Leadership Council. They are generous supporters of undergraduate financial aid at the University, having established the Gray Scholars program to support first generation students. 

Mindy and Jon are also founders of the Gray Foundation, a private foundation committed to maximizing access to education, healthcare, and opportunity for low-income children in New York. The Gray Foundation is also focused on funding initiatives to advance the care of individuals living with BRCA mutations.

Domchek photoCurrent Chairholder
Susan M. Domchek, MD

Susan M. Domchek, MD is the Basser Professor in Oncology at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania. She serves as Executive Director of the Basser Center for BRCA at the Abramson Cancer Center and Director of the Mariann and Robert MacDonald Cancer Risk Evaluation Program.

Her work focuses on the genetic evaluation and medical management of individuals with inherited risk factors for cancer. Dr. Domchek is particularly interested in developing new cancer therapies, such as PARP inhibitors, for breast cancer due to genetic risk factors.

An elected member of the National Academy of Medicine, the American Society of Clinical Investigation, and the Association of American Physicians, Dr. Domchek is also a Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (FASCO).  A significant contributor to the oncology literature, she has authored/co-authored more than 400 articles appearing in scholarly journals including the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of the American Medical Association and the Journal of Clinical Oncology. Dr. Domchek also serves on a number of editorial review boards as well as on the Scientific Advisory Board for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the PA Breast Cancer Coalition.