Peter T. Scardino, Chair of Memorial Sloan-Kettering's Department of Surgery, has been named the incumbent of a newly endowed David H. Koch Chair. The chair was established in recognition of a $3 million gift from David H. Koch, executive vice president of Koch Industries, Inc., and a member of Memorial Sloan-Kettering's Boards of Overseers and Managers since 1990. This new gift brings Mr. Koch's total commitment during the course of the Campaign for Memorial Sloan-Kettering to more than $40 million, including funds to launch the David H. Koch Center for the Immunologic Control of Cancer and ongoing support for prostate cancer research.
Dr. Scardino is a urologist who is an internationally recognized expert in the prognosis, early detection, and treatment of prostate cancer. He and his team have developed nomograms to predict the results of treatment, imaging studies to improve staging, and new techniques that lead to better outcomes after surgery for prostate cancer. He is the principal investigator of Memorial Sloan-Kettering's SPORE in prostate cancer, a large grant from the National Cancer Institute to support collaborative research between basic scientists and physicians. In 1999 he became the inaugural Chair of the Department of Urology, and he was named to his current position in 2006.
