The Eli Glatstein, MD Endowed Professorship

In 2018, the Department of Radiation Oncology, friends, colleagues, and students of Eli Glatstein, MD, created the Professorship to honor his pioneering contributions to the field and his accomplishments in educating academic leaders in cancer treatment.

A Professor Emeritus in the Department of Radiation Oncology at the Perelman School of Medicine, Dr. Glatstein began his career at his medical alma mater, Stanford University. He served in the Vietnam War and was awarded the Bronze Star. From 1967 to 1982, Dr. Glatstein played a leadership role at the National Cancer Institute as Chief of Radiation Oncology. He next became the first chairman of the Department of Radiation Oncology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. In 1996, he joined Penn as Professor and Vice Chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology and as the first Morton Kligerman Professor. Dr. Glatstein is noted for his work in lymphoma, sarcomas, lung cancer, radiation biology, and photodynamic therapy, as well as for his outspoken advocacy of multidisciplinary treatment for cancer. More than 25 of his students and trainees have become chairs of academic departments, continuing his legacy of excellence in cancer therapy.  Dr. Glatstein was a beloved mentor and educator in the field of radiation oncology and played a critical role in developing its culture of spreading knowledge.

Current Chairholder
Edgar Ben-Josef, MD

Edgar Ben-Josef, M.D. is a Professor of Radiation Oncology at the University of Pennsylvania with internationally-recognized expertise in gastrointestinal cancer. He serves as Vice Chair of Translational Research for the department and he has extensive background in the design and conduct of clinical trials. Dr. Ben- Josef has been involved in clinical and translational research for the past 20 years. His research interest is focused on pancreatic and hepatobiliary cancer. He served as principal investigator on multiple institutional trials as well as on a number of national collaborative group trials, including RTOG 1201 and SWOG 0809. He was a Co-Chair of the Hepatobiliary Subcommittee in SWOG and a member of the NCI Hepatobiliary Task Force. He also served as the chairman of the University of Michigan Cancer Center Protocol Review Committee and as a member of the National Cancer Institute Board of Scientific Counselors, and in that capacity, he has reviewed the NCI intramural programs.