Professor of Medicine and Chief of Hematology and Oncology, University Hospitals (UH) Case Medical Center and Case Western Reserve University; Associate Director, Clinical Research, Case Comprehensive Cancer Center; Associate Director, Clinical Programs, Seidman Cancer Center, UH Medical Center; and ASCO Board of Directors member

AC: What led you to oncology?

Dr. Meropol: I graduated from high school thinking I would become a psychiatrist. When I was a medical student, I rotated on a bone marrow transplant service. The procedure was new, and patients were hospitalized for prolonged periods. As a student, I had the most time available to sit with patients and learn about their experiences. I came to appreciate that oncology is a field where innovation is critical, and where the doctor-patient relationship is of paramount importance.

AC: What's the last book you read?

Dr. Meropol: I'm in the middle of Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs. This is a quasi-autobiographical account of a bizarre adolescence. Surprising, outrageous, horrifying, sad, and laugh-out-loud funny, all at once. AC: What hobbies do you enjoy? Dr. Meropol: My most well-cultivated hobby is my family. Board games at the beach, sports events and concerts, playing music, and watching movies are among my favorites. With my youngest child off to college, my wife and I recently became empty nesters and are taking bridge lessons. Learning the new "language" of bridge is a great challenge!

AC: Do you have a personal motto?

Dr. Meropol: Paraphrasing Wayne Gretzky, "You can't score if you don't shoot." AC: What is your fondest memory? Dr. Meropol: My wife and I recently celebrated our 25th anniversary. We watched a video of our wedding. It was great to relive this wonderful event with family and friends.

AC: Who is the person you most admire?

Dr. Meropol: My father owned a small toy store. He worked seven days a week to provide for his family and create opportunities for us. To my dad, family was everything, and he was effusive in his affection for us. I've also found over the years that I have great admiration for my friends. Each is a better person than me in different ways, and each helps me strive to become as good a person as I can be.

AC: What career could you see yourself in if you weren't an oncologist?

Dr. Meropol: I can imagine a career as a behavioral economist. This field resonates with my interests in theoretical and empirical psychology, as well as health care economics. Ultimately, population health will be optimized only if we understand the health behaviors of individuals and design delivery systems that are consistent with these innate behaviors.

AC: What changes do you envision for the field in the next 10 years?

Dr. Meropol: I imagine that precision medicine will mature to the point where we will be approaching all cancers as if they were rare based on molecular characteristics. This will force major changes in drug development and regulatory approval, clinical trial design and execution, and how we pay for care. Advances in health information technology also promise the opportunity to improve care by aggregating treatment and outcome data on large populations of patients with cancer in real word settings—in essence, learning from each of our patients.

AC: What would you say to a young physician thinking about entering the field of oncology?

Dr. Meropol: For anyone interested in an evolving field in which science and technology are major drivers of progress, and where the human element is front and center, oncology is a natural fit. If you fear paradigm changes and lifelong learning, this field is not for you!