Dr. Nathaniel I. Berlin, founder and former director of Northwestern’s Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center, died March 5 in Aventura, Fla. He was 87.
Berlin served as director of the cancer center until his retirement in 1987. Following his retirement, the cancer center initiated an annual Berlin Lecture for all faculty in the doctor’s honor.
The noted pioneer in cancer research retained a passion for his work throughout his lifetime, his family and colleagues said.
After leaving NU, Berlin became deputy director at the University of Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center. His research set standards for many cancer screening and treatment guidelines, said Dr. Steven Rosen, who became the cancer center’s director after Berlin’s retirement.
Rosen said Berlin was very supportive from the first time the two doctors met in 1981.
“He created the essential structure that led to our success,” Rosen said. “He created the framework for our cancer center.”
Berlin received a bachelor’s degree from Case Western Reserve University in 1942, and an M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.
Berlin served as a medical officer for two years with the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project before joining the National Cancer Institute, where he held several positions until 1975.
His daughter, Deborah Ligenza, said her father had two passions in life.
“First, family – my dad really had a great marriage with my mom, who passed away,” Ligenza said. “His other was his real love of medicine and research.”
Ligenza, 52, described her father as modest and humble.
“He wasn’t affected by accolades at all,” she said. “I don’t think he really understood how his contributions affected society.”
One of those contributions was the creation of the center, which had an impact on cancer research, Rosen said.
“He was one of the senior figures in the field,” Rosen said.
Berlin’s death was preceded by the death of his wife, Barbara, in 1990. His son, Marc Berlin, spent the last three years living with his father in Florida.
“A lot of people ask me about my father, and the first thing that comes to my mind is the relationship he had with my mom,” Marc said. “I never really crossed into that world of his. From what I’m told though, he was a real giant in the world of cancer and oncology.”
Berlin loved his work so much, it was also his main hobby, Ligenza said. He also enjoyed traveling, and would take six to eight weeks off to drive from Florida to Maine, stopping along the way to visit family and friends, she said.
“Until the day he passed, he still had a number of friends from 40, 50, 60 years ago that he still kept in touch with,” Marc Berlin said. “My dad really was that type of great individual that I don’t run into much anymore.”
Marc also remembers his father’s ability to retain friendships.
“In terms of professionally in medicine, with friends and with family, he really got as much out of life as anyone could ever expect to,” he said.
