David M. Livingston M.D.

David Livingston is Deputy Director of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center; Chief of the Charles A. Dana Division of Human Cancer Genetics at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and the Emil Frei Professor of Genetics and Medicine at Harvard Medical School. From 1991-1995, Dr Livingston served as Physician- in- Chief of DFCI and, from 1996 to 2000, he served as Chairman of the Executive Committee for Research at the Institute. In the latter role, he led the senior faculty group that oversees all aspects of the Institute's research program. Dr. Livingston has been a Harvard faculty member continuously since 1973.

Dr. Livingston received a B.A. from Harvard University, an M.D. from Tufts University School of Medicine, and served his intern ship and residency in intern al medicine at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston (now Brigham and Women's Hospital). In 1967, he became a Research Associate at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) in molecular biology and biochemistry; he continued his work as a Research Fellow in Biological Chemistry at Harvard Medical School in 1969. Dr. Livingston returned to NCI in 1971 as a Senior Staff Fellow and later as Senior Investigator.

Dr. Livingston is an intern ationally recognized expert on genes that regulate cell growth in the body -- genes that, when they go awry, can lead to cancer. These genes are called oncogenes and tumor suppressor genes. Through his research, Dr. Livingston is uncovering the detailed biochemical steps required to initiate and maintain the transformation of these cells into tumor cells. His focus is on the regulatory controls of signal transduction -- the smooth and coordinated flow of special chemical signals from the surrounding environment to the cell, where it is transduced into specific commands that tell cells whether or not to grow -- and their role in cancer. His special research expertise is in the study of genes that give rise to breast and ovarian cancer, such as BRCA1 and 2.

Dr. Livingston is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, sits on numerous editorial boards, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Association of American Physicians, the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the American Academy of Microbiology. Dr. Livingston has authored more than 170 scientific publications.