Photo courtesy of University
of Chicago Medicine
Charles M. Rubin, MD, an associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Chicago Medicine, has passed away at the age of 62.
Dr Rubin died while at work on July 17.
He had just arrived at the pediatric clinic at the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox when his heart stopped.
Resuscitation efforts were unsuccessful.
An authority on pediatric cancers, Dr Rubin had a particular interest in brain tumors and cancer occurring in children with genetic syndromes. He combined experience in basic laboratory research on the genetics of cancer with broad clinical expertise.
“I can’t put into words how much I respected him,” said colleague Tara Henderson, MD, associate professor of pediatrics and director of the Childhood Cancer Survivors Center at the University of Chicago’s Comer Children’s Hospital.
“He was amazingly knowledgeable, compassionate, and thoughtful—traits at the core of our program. I take his influence with me as I care for my patients. He could also be funny, with a dry, quiet sense of humor. We never knew when it was coming. We miss him dearly.”
Dr Rubin was born February 10, 1953, in Long Branch, New Jersey. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1975 and his medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine in 1979.
Dr Rubin completed his pediatric residency at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in 1982, followed by a fellowship in pediatric hematology/oncology at the University of Minnesota in 1985.
He went to the University of Chicago in 1985 as a cytogenetics and molecular biology fellow in the laboratory of Janet Rowley, MD, an internationally recognized pioneer in understanding the genetics of cancer.
Dr Rubin joined the faculty as an assistant professor of pediatrics and medicine and a member of the university’s Cancer Research Center in 1987. In 1991, he and adult oncologist Funmi Olopade, MD, co-founded the university’s Cancer Risk Clinic.
“Chuck Rubin was one of the finest individuals I have ever known,” said Michelle Le Beau, PhD, a former colleague in the Rowley laboratory and now director of the University of Chicago Medicine Comprehensive Cancer Center.
“He was a consummate academician and physician who blended compassion and sensitivity with brilliant clinical acumen. His dedication to his family, his patients, and the University of Chicago was selfless and unparalleled. It was a privilege to work with him and an honor to learn from his example.”
Although Dr Rubin continued to work closely with his basic-science colleagues, contributing to more than 50 original reports in academic journals, his interests increasingly focused on patient care.
At the same time, he took on several administrative roles. He served as course director for pediatric grand rounds and the medical center’s pediatric tumor board.
He directed the pediatric hematology/oncology fellowship for 7 years and the pediatric neuro-oncology program for 10 years. He also volunteered for medical staff positions in various educational and rehabilitative summer camps for children with cancer.
Dr Rubin was a leader in the University of Chicago Medicine’s efforts to take a research-driven approach to pediatric cancer care into the community, serving as director of pediatric hematology/oncology outreach since 2008.
Dr Rubin is survived by his wife, Gretchen; their 4 daughters, Elizabeth, Jane, Lucy, and Claire; brothers Michael, Peter, and Richard; and many nieces and nephews.
