Michael B. Harris, M.D., Professorship Established at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine and The Children’s Cancer Institute Thanks to $1 Million Gift from Generous Donor

Hackensack, NJ – October 13, 2022 – Hackensack Meridian Health Foundation is pleased to announce the establishment of the Michael B. Harris, M.D., Professorship at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine and Hackensack Meridian Children’s Health Children’s Cancer Institute, thanks to a generous $1 million gift from an anonymous donor. 

The gift was made in honor of longtime physician, Michael B. Harris M.D., director emeritus of the Children’s Cancer Institute and former director of the Cure and Beyond Survivorship Program, who helped to create the pediatric cancer program at Hackensack Meridian Children’s Health at Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital. The Professorship is an endowed position - one of the most prestigious in academia - that will be awarded to the physician serving in the role of chief of pediatric hematology-oncology and bone marrow transplant/cellular therapy at the Children’s Hospital and faculty at the School of Medicine. It will support the chief’s academic goals in clinical investigations and translational research and fund key positions that encourage further growth and evolution in the treatment and care of children with blood disorders and cancers.

“We are so grateful to our anonymous donor and all who joined us to celebrate Dr. Harris’ visionary work throughout his 35 years of service at Hackensack Meridian Health,” said Joyce P. Hendricks, president and chief development officer, Hackensack Meridian Health Foundation. “In addition to our incredibly generous donor, many of Dr. Harris’ colleagues and grateful patients have also joined in support of this professorship, which will ensure our commitment to his incredible legacy through world-class education and training for our medical students, residents and fellows. I know that this transformational professorship will directly impact the compassionate care our youngest and sickest patients need and deserve.”

Dr. Harris, who retired earlier this summer, developed the Children’s Cancer Institute 35 years ago with the goal of providing cutting-edge therapy to children with blood disorders and cancer, and establishing an atmosphere conducive to their care and cure by creating a strong psycho-social presence. In addition to physicians and nurses, the Children’s Cancer Institute team is made up of social workers, child life specialists, psychologists and educational liaisons who take care of the patients and their families’ needs. Today, the Children’s Cancer Institute remains dedicated to performing careful clinical and translational research that brings discoveries found in the laboratory to the bedside. 

Dr. Harris also co-developed the Cure and Beyond Survivorship Program at the Children’s Cancer Institute, which has provided patients with continued care needed beyond their cancer diagnosis and cure. To date, thousands of patients have been treated.

“Dr. Harris has brought pediatric cancer care and research to new heights in New Jersey and beyond, and we cannot thank him enough for developing and molding the Children’s Cancer Institute at Hackensack Meridian Health,” said Jeffrey Boscamp, M.D., interim dean, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine. “I have had the distinct pleasure of knowing Dr. Harris for many years, and working with him has been such an honor. This special professorship in his name will certainly allow us to pay tribute to all of his achievements and expand on pediatric cancer research and innovation for the benefit of our youngest patients and their families.”

To learn more about, and how to support, the Michael B. Harris, M.D., Professorship Program at Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine and the Children’s Cancer Institute, please contact Amy Glazer, executive director, Children’s Health, Hackensack Meridian Health Foundation, at amy.glazer@hmhn.org. To support Children’s Health, visit HackensackMeridianHealth.org/GiveNow. 

ABOUT HACKENSACK MERIDIAN HEALTH FOUNDATION

Hackensack Meridian Health Foundation, a registered 501(c)(3), is the philanthropic division of Hackensack Meridian Health, a leading not-for-profit health care organization that is the largest, most comprehensive and truly integrated health care network in New Jersey, offering a complete range of medical services, innovative research and life-enhancing care. The foundation oversees fundraising for the network’s three academic medical centers, two children’s hospitals and six community-based medical center foundations, as well as key initiatives, programs and services offered by Hackensack Meridian Health, including behavioral health, children’s health, Hackensack Meridian Health’s Center for Discovery & Innovation and Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine.  Hackensack Meridian Health Foundation is recognized as one of the top three nonprofit organizations in New Jersey in the NJBIZ Reader Rankings and has been designated as both a High Performer Overall and Healthcare System High Performer by the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP) within their 2021 Report on Giving. Visit www.HackensackMeridianHealth.org/Donate for more information.

About Hackensack Meridian Children’s Health

Hackensack Meridian Children’s Health provides the most comprehensive and highest level of quality care to young patients in the state of New Jersey. The children’s network is comprised of two children’s hospitals – Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center in Hackensack and K. Hovnanian Children’s Hospital at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in Neptune – and a large network of pediatric subspecialists and pediatricians. Both hospitals ranked #1 in New Jersey in the U.S. News & World Report 2022-23 Best Children’s Hospital Report.  The combined nephrology care program at both hospitals ranked among the top 50 in the nation in the U.S. News & World Report. Visit www.hackensackmerdianhealth.org/kids for more information about Hackensack Meridian Children’s Health.