Dr. Frederick Becker was born on July 23, 1931 in New York City. He received a B.A. from Columbia College and M.D. from New York University School of Medicine. Prior to joining M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Dr. Becker was Director of the Department of Pathology at Bellvue Medical Center.
Becker joined M. D. Anderson in 1976 as Chair of Pathology. He served as the first Vice President for Research from 1979 to 1998, during which time he redesigned the center’s research format, recruited outstanding basic scientists and department chairs, promoted collaborative interdisciplinary research and shepherded extensive physical expansion. From 1998 until 2001, he was a special advisor to M. D. Anderson President John Mendelsohn, M.D., who credited Becker with “creating the scholarly climate in which research has flourished at M. D. Anderson.”
When Becker retired as vice president for research, he was honored with the creation of the Frederick F. Becker Distinguished University Chair in Cancer Research. Since October 2001, Becker has been a professor of molecular pathology, working with colleagues in multidisciplinary laboratories to extend research in the fields of microfluidics and dielectrophoresis as well as to develop a new class of anti-tumor agents.
Portions of this interview have been redacted for privacy concerns. Please see Archivist for details.
Frederick Becker Interview 1, June 19, 2008, Research Medical Library, The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center.
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Oral history was edited by Jewelry Yep, HRC Intern, March 2011
Interview conducted between Dr. Frederick Becker and Lesley Brunet on June 19, 2008.