Pulling Back the Curtain
Mary Horowitz, MD, MS
We can learn much more from the innovators and mentors in hematology and
oncology than 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.
In this edition, Mary Horowitz, MD, MS, talks about how happy accidents, hard work,
and taking chances have shaped her career. Dr. Horowitz is the Robert A. Uihlein Jr.
Chair in hematologic research and professor of medicine and chief of the Division of
Hematology and Oncology at the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.
Mary Horowitz, MD, MS, with her
husband and three children.
What was your first job?
Being the oldest of seven children, I had
a variety of jobs when I was younger,
but the first time I actually was paid for
my work was as an aide working with
children with disabilities. I started when
I was 13 and continued through junior
high and high school. In fact, when I went
to college my plan was to major in special
education and to teach children with
learning disabilities.
When did you decide to pursue
medicine?
I came from a different era: My parents
didn’t think that women should work
outside the home, and my father actually
thought college was a waste of money
for women. He also didn’t think women
should drive, but my mother was having
none of that – with seven kids, someone
needed to get them where they needed to
go! They weren’t too happy when I decided
to go to medical school, but they knew
by then that it was futile to talk me out
of anything. Eventually, my father came
around; I think I was in my 40s when he
finally told me, “It seems to have worked
out okay.” That was a huge thing for him
to say! And, despite their objections, my
parents did everything they could to help
me throughout my training.
So, it wasn’t until I went to college
that I realized there were many other
opportunities out there – including
science. One of my friends was a
graduate student in biology, and I used
to hang around his lab, asking him all
sorts of questions about what he was
doing. At one point he said, “Why are
you going into education? You should
go to medical school.” I thought that
was a good idea, so I enrolled in an
independent study program where I had
many hands-on opportunities in the lab.
The head of the program introduced
me to his wife, Miriam Meisler, PhD,
who was a molecular biologist at the
University of Buffalo at the time.
Meeting and working with her opened
up a whole new world to me; that’s when
I decided to go to medical school.
That experience, and her guidance, was
transformative for me in many ways. First,
I loved the science. Second, she was also the
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first woman I knew who had career
ambitions and a family. And third, I
ended up marrying her brother!
So, it was a lucky meeting all
around?
It definitely was. We’ve been
married for 42 years. And, actually,
he’s a teacher. He’s retired now, but
he taught young kids for 45 years.
The one word that describes my
life is lucky. I have been incredibly
lucky to meet the right people. I
was also willing to take chances and
to work hard, but I owe a lot to the
people who have guided me down
my career path.
That also led me to my work
with the Center for International
Blood and Marrow Transplant
Research (CIBMTR), studying
outcomes data for transplantations.
It wasn’t what I planned to do when
I finished my internal medicine training.
I was working on my Master’s degree
in biostatistics when Al Rimm, PhD,
the statistician for what was then the
International Bone Marrow Transplant
Registry or IBMTR (we became CIBMTR
in 2004 when we affiliated with the
National Marrow Donor Program), asked
if I wanted to work on the registry data
for my thesis. That was in 1985, and I’ve
been working with CIBMTR ever since.
It was totally an accident, but it was the
perfect job for me.
That was also when I met the person
who was probably my most important
mentor, Mortimer Bortin, MD, who was
an immunologist and the first director
of the IBMTR, which was established in
1972 – before the term outcomes registry
was even invented and before there was
a computer on everyone’s desk. It was an
idea way ahead of its time. But there are
many people who helped and guided me
– too many for your page limit, I am afraid!
If you hadn’t gone into medicine,
what career could you see yourself
in?
I could have been happy doing a lot of
things, as long as it involved solving
problems. Becoming a doctor was
undeniably the right choice for me
because it combines working with people
and solving problems. I truly am always
grateful that I get up in the morning, and
I am able to go to work.
As a division chief at Medical College
of Wisconsin, I don’t do as much clinical
work as I used to, but a problem presents
itself every day; I love that. Growing up as
the oldest daughter in a seven-kid, Irish–
Italian household prepared me for my role
as division chief, and in a way, I guess my
mother is my first mentor. I helped her
take care of the younger kids while I was
still a kid myself. It was a constant state of
controlled chaos, but somehow she made
sure that everyone did what they were
supposed to and got along – much like a
division chief does!
How do you maintain a work-life
balance?
Because I started having a family at the
same time I started my career – our oldest
son was born eight weeks before I started
medical school – I integrated them from
the start. I didn’t thin k of it as “work-life
balance,” which suggests that work is
something different from life. These are
all just different aspects of your life, and
on any given day, one gets more attention
than the other. That equation changes
at different times in your life, and it’s
different for everyone. It has to feel right
to everyone, though – to you and to the
people who are depending on you.
We have three children: our oldest
son, our daughter who was born after
my internship, and our youngest who
was born 10 years later. When people
hear that I had a baby during medical
school, they’re stunned. They think it’s
impossible. But having our youngest
son after I had established my career
was actually more difficult. First of all,
with our oldest, I was young and filled
with energy. Second, as a trainee, when
you walk out the door, someone else
takes over; once you’re in charge or have
patients, you can’t just hand them off.
It’s not for everybody, but I have a
wonderful husband, and we never argued
about dividing up jobs or responsibilities
or anything – whoever was there did what
had to be done. It worked for us.
I always followed one rule, though: We
had to eat dinner together. No matter how
much work I had to do, I was strident
about being home for dinner.
What do you do in your spare time
– if you have any?
Our oldest son has two kids now, so I love
to be with my grandchildren.
Typically, if I’m given a choice for what
to do on a weekend, I’ll get on a plane and
go somewhere. I love to travel, and through
February 2016