Emmanuel Farber, cancer research pioneer, dies at 95

Emmanuel Farber, MD, a researcher who made significant contributions to the understanding of the link between smoking and cancer, died Aug. 3.

He was 95.

Emmanuel Farber

Farber, a member of the American Association for Cancer Research’s board of directors, was an early proponent of limiting tobacco use and educating the public about smoking risks. He served for 4 years on the Surgeon General’s first Advisory Committee on Smoking and Health. The committee issued the 1964 Surgeon General’s Report, the first federal government report linking smoking with lung cancer, heart disease and other health problems.

He began his career at Tulane University in New Orleans. He subsequently was appointed professor and chairman of pathology and professor of biochemistry at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. He later served as director of Fels Research Institute at Temple University, where he also served as professor of pathology and biochemistry.

In 1975, Farber returned to his native Canada to become professor and chairman of the department of pathology and professor in the department of biochemistry at the University of Toronto. At the time of his death, he held the title of chairman emeritus and professor in the department of pathology.

Farber long believed that an understanding of carcinogenesis also required an understanding of the cellular, genetic, metabolic and molecular changes that take place during that process.

Farber received numerous academic honors and recognitions, most notably the Parke-Davis Award, Rous-Whipple Award and Eastman Kodak Award. Additionally, Farber served as president of the American Association for Cancer Research, the American Society of Experimental Pathology and the Histochemical Society.