UP FRONT
Pulling Back the Curtain
David A. Williams, MD
We can learn much more from the innovators and mentors in hematology and
oncology than just clinical expertise. In “Pulling Back the Curtain,” we speak with
hematology/oncology professionals about how they approach their leadership positions and what advice they would give those just getting started in the field.
David A. Williams, MD, president of the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer
and Blood Disorders Center and the Leland Fikes Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard
Medical School and 2015 ASH President, spoke with ASH Clinical News about hard
work, mentorship, and the value of helping the next generation of doctors.
David A. Williams, MD,
with one of his horses.
What was your first job?
I had a few jobs as a kid. In
the fourth grade, I delivered
newspapers. Then my dad got
me a job at a paint and carpet
store, unloading paint off of
semi-trucks. That was easily my
worst job, but, shortly after that
I started the best job I had when
I was younger: working at a
McDonald’s restaurant.
My duties were to clean the
toilets (which were outside of the
main restaurant at that time) and
pick up trash off of the parking lot
for 65 cents an hour. People are
usually shocked when I tell them
that, but, actually, I quite enjoyed
it. I worked my way up through
the McDonald’s system, and
learned a lot in the process.
and went very far considering he
had no formal education.
I grew up in a big family of five
kids – I have two older brothers,
two younger sisters, and I am
right in the middle. We were
pretty poor, but we didn’t know it,
so it didn’t really matter.
I owe my work ethic to my
Midwestern upbringing and my
family.
What sparked your interest
in medicine? Were there
any teachers or mentors
that inspired you to pursue
medicine?
Well, I had always loved science
and math. I originally thought
I was going to be an engineer.
In high school, though, I had
I was told early in my career,
“What you do with your own
career is of little significance,
but what you do to foster
other people’s careers is longlasting and of much importance.” So, my goal has been
to facilitate young people’s
training to allow them to
have meaningful careers.
What was your childhood
like?
I grew up in a small Midwestern
city, Terre Haute, Indiana, and my
family were pig farmers. My father
served in World War II, so he
never finished high school. When
he came back, he worked for the
newspaper; he was a good writer
ASHClinicalNews.org
a particularly great human
physiology teacher, Mr. Payne.
He completely turned me on to
human physiology and biology.
Recently, I was inducted into
my high school’s hall of fame and
was asked to come back to give
a short talk to the student body.
I mentioned Mr. Payne in my
speech, and afterward,
a student came up to
me and introduced
himself as Mr. Payne’s
grandson. It’s amazing
how, in these smaller
communities, people
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