Dr. Aron Goldhirsch is Director of the Department of Medicine at the European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy, and Chief of Medical Oncology at the Oncology Institute of Southern Switzerland. From 1994 to 2004 he was Chairman of the Swiss Group for Clinical Cancer Research (SAKK) and is currently Co-Chairman of the Scientific Committee of the International Breast Cancer Study Group (formerly Ludwig Group). He is Professor (Professor by title) fo Medical Oncology at the University of Bern, Switzerland, and is Visiting Professor at Harvard Medical School, Boston, for the current academic year.

Dr. Goldhirsch completed his undergraduate studies in Israel and received his MD from the Milan State University in 1972. He trained in internal medicine and medical oncology in Switzerland and in the United States. His areas of research include new adjuvant treatments for breast cancer, definition of biological features that predict responsiveness or resistance to anti-cancer treatments, and quality-of-life-oriented approaches. A strong commitment to international cooperation and to the conduct of clinical trials led to his chairing the Update Committee of the Early Breast Cancer Trialists’ Collaborative Group (conducts large scale meta-analyses of breast cancer treatments) and becoming vice-chair of the Breast International Group (consortium of cooperative groups around the world for conducting trials for breast cancer therapies).

He has received several international prizes: Robert Wenner Prize of the Swiss Cancer League, San Salvatore Prize, International «La Madonnina» Prize for Research of the City of Milan, Prize Farmitalia of the German Oncology Group, and the Swiss Lavezzari Prize. The University of Gothenburg, Sweden, awarded him an Honorary Doctor in 1993.

Dr. Goldhirsch is author of 435 peer-reviewed articles and chapters in reference books and editor or co-editor of 10 books. He is also on the editorial board of several oncology and breast cancer research journals.

Dr. Goldhirsch, Swiss citizen, was born in 1946, in Landsberg am Lech, Germany. In 1948, the family emigrated from Germany to Israel. He is married to Francesca Stucchi M.D., an ophthalmologist. They have three children, Tommaso, Lea, and Nina and they all live in Mendrisio, Switzerland.