William O. Russell Lectureship

William Russell, M.D., enjoyed a long, illustrious career at MD Anderson. He was the first chair of Pathology from 1948 to 1977.

When Dr. Russell passed away in 1999, his wishes included honoring the very department he helped to build. His wife, Marolyn Russell, M.D., was also a faculty member at MD Anderson. She was intimately familiar with the means by which to make a difference at MD Anderson. She helped establish the William O. Russell Lectureship and Joanne Vandenberge Hill Award in Anatomical Pathology.

The lectureship provides the support necessary to bring distinguished lecturers to MD Anderson. Here they present novel information and data on the most recent developments in the field of pathology.

This past year, one of the speakers was Ralph Hruban, M.D., a professor of pathology and oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He delivered a lecture entitled, “New Concepts in Pancreatic Neoplasia,” in January of 2016. Dr. Hruban is world-renowned pancreatic cancer pathology expert whose areas of clinical expertise include pancreatic cancer and its precursors, neuroendocrine tumors of the pancreas and pancreatic pathology.

Endowments like the Russell Lectureship allow faculty to form new collaborations. They enrich scientific community at MD Anderson, to the benefit of patients. 

You can establish a lecture series for a minimum of $100,000.