Dr. Buchsbaum possesses the experience and vision to take our Cancer Center to the next level and further enhance the exceptional, interdisciplinary care we provide all our patients fighting this disease,” said Michael Apkon, MD, PhD, President and CEO of Tufts Medical Center. “Under her leadership, we anticipate expanding our cancer services into the community, so that our patients can benefit from more convenient care close to home.”
As Director of the Cancer Center, Dr. Buchsbaum will lead the development and integration of clinical, academic and research-based cancer programs to further enhance the exceptional interdisciplinary care provided to patients fighting this disease. She will lead the Neely Center for Clinical Cancer Research and is charged with spearheading the extension of research opportunities into the Wellforce network and the broader community, as well as integrating the translational and population research in cancer at Tufts Medical Center into the overall cancer structure of the organization.
“At Tufts Medical Center, we have a long history of clinicians and researchers doing transformative work in cancer, and now I believe we’re ready to take the next step forward,” said Dr. Buchsbaum. “I’m excited and honored to oversee the introduction of this new multidisciplinary structure to the Cancer Center and our institution. This will allow us to better care for our patients across our complex organization and create the next advances that will ultimately help us provide even better care to our patients.”
Dr. Buchsbaum has spent almost her entire career, spanning more than three decades, at Tufts Medical Center. She has served as Chief of the Division of Hematology/Oncology since 2017 and the Director of the Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program since 2011. She is Professor of Medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine, where she has been the Jane F. Desforges, MD, Chair of Hematology and Oncology since 2018. She is also Professor of Genetics at the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences at Tufts University. Dr. Buchsbaum is a founding member and former chair of the Tufts Medical Center Women in Medicine and Science Committee, and is a standing member of the Faculty of 1000, a collaboration of international experts reviewing key articles in biology and medical research. She participates in a number of cancer review boards - including for the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Defense, the Israel Science Foundation and the UK Medical Research Council –and is a leader in medical education in cancer through her work within the American Society of Clinical Oncology.
Dr. Buchsbaum’s research interests focus on signal transduction pathways in tumor growth and metastasis, exploring the breast cancer microenvironment with the goal of developing novel therapeutic inhibitors for clinical use in treating breast cancer.
“Dr. Buchsbaum is deeply invested in developing better tools for the detection of breast cancer and has established ongoing collaborations with many key investigators – both at Tufts MC and outside our organization – to advance this work,” said Errol Norwitz, MD, PhD, former Chief Scientific Officer at Tufts Medical Center. “Her research aligns beautifully with the Cancer Center’s mission to more rapidly translate basic science to advances in clinical practice.”
Dr. Buchsbaum earned her bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Physics, cum laude, at Harvard College and received her medical degree from Cornell University Medical College. She completed her residency in Internal Medicine at Beth Israel Hospital, and a clinical and research fellowship in Hematology/Oncology at Tufts Medical Center. Dr. Buchsbaum makes her home in Winchester, Mass. with her husband, Michael Arwe, where they have raised two children and four dogs.
