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A Tribute to Murray Brennan
Surgeon, Teacher, Investigator, and Leader
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"Murray Brennan's vision for the surgical enterprise at Memorial Sloan-Kettering has, over the last 20 years, become a reality. He has built a program that is recognized as among the finest in the nation. And, while we honor and are proud of Murray's individual achievements, it is perhaps his deep commitment to a fully collaborative environment -- including the teaching and mentoring of future generations -- that will remain his most enduring legacy."
Harold Varmus, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center President
In the spring of 1981, before Murray Brennan assumed his current position as the Chairman of the Department of Surgery, before his directorship of the American Board of Surgery, his presidency of the American Surgical Association, and his countless honorary degrees and awards, he finished a six-year stint at the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and came to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to interview for a job. Unfortunately it wasn't a job he was particularly interested in.
"Jerry DeCosse, who was Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the time, asked me to run a nutrition service for the department," Dr. Brennan recalled. "I told him that I was grateful for the offer, but that it wasn't the right job for me, and that he could cancel the rest of the visit."
Fortunately for Memorial Sloan-Kettering, its patients, and a generation of Memorial Sloan-Kettering surgeons, Dr. DeCosse asked Dr. Brennan to stay for lunch in the cafeteria while he investigated other options. When Dr. Brennan returned from lunch, the new offer he received was to be Chief of the Gastric Service. "I had never wanted to be a Chairman, so to me this was a very attractive opportunity," Dr. Brennan said, "one which would allow me to be in charge of my own group and run my own laboratory, without having to do all the administrative work required of a Chairman."
"I'm completing my fellowship training just as Dr. Brennan is stepping down as Chairman. Reflecting on the brief two years that have made up the entirety of my experience with him, I can't help but feel like the soldier who wades onto the shores of a great battle the day after it has occurred -- looking about, marveling at the unimaginable struggles and accomplishments that have clearly just taken place and thinking that a truly great thing has happened here."
Clifford Cho, Chief Surgical Fellow
After serious consideration, Dr. Brennan accepted the offer and moved from the NCI to Memorial Sloan-Kettering, where he began to build a more academically rigorous program. Less than four years later, Dr. DeCosse stepped down from his Chairmanship, leaving Dr. Brennan with an interesting challenge when he was offered the position of Chairman. "There are only two reasons most people take a job," Dr. Brennan explained. "One is that you want it, and the other is that you don't want someone else to have it. I accepted the offer for the latter reason."
Looking back on his decision, Dr. Brennan considers it a very wise choice: "Over the years, I've been offered positions at a number of distinguished places. While I'm flattered by each offer, I always return to Memorial Sloan-Kettering, knowing that this is the one place where I can continue to do all the things I like to do: operate on patients, teach young surgeons, and conduct research."
"Murray's skill as a surgeon and humanity as a doctor puts him in a class by himself. Tireless in his commitment to his patients, colleagues, students, and family, it's not unusual to get an e-mail from him time-stamped 5:30 in the morning and later hear that he was still in the recovery room seeing a patient at 8:00 that night. He inspires confidence and is fiercely loyal. He has made Memorial Sloan-Kettering a better place."
Douglas A. Warner III, Chairman, Boards of Overseers and Managers
As for highlights of his time as Chairman, there are many, but for him, the ultimate highlight is the chance he has had to mentor and train young faculty members. "Watching them grow has been far and away the most satisfying part of my career," he said. "Growing a successful team is far more important to me than being a superstar player," he noted. "You get rewarded by the successes of the other members of your team."
When asked about his training philosophy, his reply was quick, "People always think of fellowship programs as finishing schools," he explained. "I think of them as a place where you get the tools you will need to develop the rest of your career."
"To work with Murray Brennan is to experience contagious enthusiasm for new knowledge. By constantly asking What can we learn from this?, he brings questions into focus with unmatched intensity. One cannot help being swept into the quest. He has motivated a generation of surgical oncologists while serving as a mentor to clinicians and researchers, both in his department and throughout the institution. It is a great honor to share in his love for medical discovery."
David S. Klimstra, Chief, Surgical Pathology Service
While Dr. Brennan is continuing his full-time commitment to see patients, he has few qualms about stepping down after serving more than 20 years as Chairman. "I'm very optimistic about the state of the Department of Surgery," Dr. Brennan declared with discernible pride. "And I'm not unhappy about what I've achieved here. I would have liked to have done more, but that's mostly because I foster in myself a chronic dissatisfaction with the status quo. I believe that if you are constantly critical of the status quo, then you'll end up making a positive difference."
"Murray Brennan has taught an entire generation of surgical oncologists how to question. Through his personal example, he has shown how to pose the most important clinical and research questions, and then go about finding the answers to them. He takes nothing for granted and has a singular way of cutting right to the crux of any matter. He has served as a role model, both to the fellows and to the attendings in the department. And on a personal note, he has always been supportive of his attendings and their family lives. He has been a superb leader."
Kimberly J. Van Zee, Surgical Oncologist
In terms of regrets, he has only one. "Like many surgeons, I would say that I wish I had spent more time with my children, with whom I now have a good relationship, but who paid the price for my career. I've been extraordinarily privileged to look after patients who, under incredible adversity, have coped with life-threatening illnesses and indeed death. But there's also a price you pay as a surgeon. Still, to have lived differently I would have had to have been a different person."
"Aside from his research and clinical expertise, and his outstanding dedication as an educator, Dr. Brennan also has an amazing ability to connect with patients and families. I saw firsthand how he inspired confidence and trust when meeting with patients and families, even when what they had hoped for was not the outcome. His participation in and support of the perioperative nurse liaison program helped change the culture in surgery to what is now standard practice. I'll always remember his remarkable way of challenging us all to improve patient care by asking thoughtful and thought-provoking questions."
Suzanne Carmody, Director of the Physician Referral Service
Having planned to step down from the Chairmanship at the age of 65, Dr. Brennan made it a point to announce his plan well before the actual date. "There is always the risk that if you do not announce your intentions far enough in advance, the time will come, and you will suddenly not want to let go," he said.
"Over the last 21 years, Dr. Brennan has recruited arguably the finest clinical and academic department of surgery in the world, in both breadth and depth. Through his unwavering support and his fostering of synergistic institutional partnerships, he has consistently created an environment where the members of his department have been able to accomplish much more than they would have been able to elsewhere."
Daniel G. Coit, Surgical Oncologist
Dr. Brennan looks back at the past two decades with a mixture of his signature personal accountability and some much deserved pride. "There's no question that if you really think you've completed a job, then you're either naïve or you don't know what real progress is," he said. "But if I were killed tomorrow, I would have no justification telling the Almighty that I haven't had a fulfilling life." After a pause, breaking into a wry grin, he added, "I'd rather that not happen, and I like to think there are some good times left for me, both in my personal life and in my continuing role at Memorial Sloan-Kettering."
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