Kevin Reitnauer Fox, MD Professorship in Oncology

Established in 2019 to honor the career of Kevin Reitnauer Fox, MD, this professorship is awarded to a medical oncologist at the Abramson Cancer Center who exhibits clinical excellence through innovative treatments and outstanding patient care.

The gift expresses the MacDonalds’ gratitude for the care given by the Rena Rowan Breast Center and their desire to see breast cancer become a worry of the past for their daughter and granddaughter as well as for families everywhere.

Generous support from the MacDonalds also established The Mariann T. and Robert J. MacDonald Professorship in Breast Cancer Care Excellence, as well as the Mariann and Robert MacDonald Cancer Risk Evaluation Center, including an endowed Directorship for the Center. 

Mariann T. MacDonald co-founded and served as Executive Vice President of Operations for Endo Pharmaceuticals. Under her leadership, Endo, makers of Percocet and Percodan, became an international leader in the field of pain management. Robert J. MacDonald is the owner of Pieces, Inc., an art and accessory firm based in Naples, FL.

Mrs. MacDonald is Member Emerita of the Abramson Cancer Center Director’s Leadership Council and Penn Medicine Board.

Current Chairholder: Ivan P. Maillard, MD, PhD

Ivan P. Maillard, MD, PhD, is the inaugural holder of the Kevin Reitnauer Fox, MD Professorship in Oncology. Dr. Maillard completed his undergraduate studies at Gymnase de Chamblandes and earned his MD at the University of Lausanne and Zurich and MD-PhD at the Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences. He completed a residency in internal medicine at the University of Lausanne Medical Center, followed by a fellowship in Hematology-Oncology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and a post-doctoral fellowship at the Perelman School of Medicine. He currently serves as Vice Chief for Research in the Division of Hematology and Oncology, and Co-Scientific Director of the Cell Therapy and Transplantation Program.

Dr. Maillard’s research focuses on the role of Notch signaling in blood cell production and T cell immunity. His findings are being explored in the prevention of Graft-versus-host disease (GVHD)—in which T cells in the donor graft attack the recipient’s own tissues—and in the treatment of T cell–mediated immune disorders. Dr. Maillard and his colleagues have published work on experimental antibody treatments that largely prevented GVHD in the intestines, without causing broad immune suppression, in a preclinical study. Even when a bone marrow transplant cures leukemia or lymphoma, GVHD can be fatal and is among the leading causes of death and adverse health consequences associated with bone marrow transplants. He is also interested in the role of fibroblastic reticular cells as a source of Notch ligands and other signals in secondary lymphoid organs, with a focus on their emerging roles in immune regulation, immunological, and hematological disorders.