Dr. Robert W. Finberg

Dr. Robert W. Finberg was the true triple threat in academic medicine. He was a brilliant teacher, an accomplished researcher and an astute clinician. His sudden death on Aug. 30, 2021, at the age of 71 left the University of Massachusetts T.H. Chan Medical School bereft of one of the finest scholars and physicians in America. Until last year, Bob was the chair of the department of medicine. Prior to coming to UMass, he was chief of infectious diseases at the Dana-Farber Cancer Center. Anyone who remembers the year 2000, when Bob arrived at the medical school, will recall the department of medicine was a small, albeit talented, cluster of clinicians and researchers. Bob transformed the department into a renowned provider of high-quality medical services as well as a world-class research engine with tremendous success at high profile discoveries and research funding.

Bob had numerous talents. First and foremost, he was mentor to a legion of successful academic physicians, physician scientists and other scholars. His trainees literally populated the academic community with highly talented physicians, scientists and clinician-scientists. Second, he had a consummate ability to get the job done. Whether a difficult research project or the restructuring of a clinical department, important problems were resolved under his management. It was no surprise Bob organized numerous research projects to answer the challenge of SARS-CoV-2, nor that his operation ran smoothly under his spectacular organizational skills. Perhaps Bob’s most inspiring gift to his family, friends and colleagues was the passion he had toward all aspects of life. Bob was as happy tackling the numerous challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic as the innate immune response to respiratory syncytial virus, climbing Mount Kilimanjaro or achieving a deep learning of the history of architectural innovation in the city of Chicago. Bob’s untimely death resulted in great sorrow in the UMass community. We know the pain his family feels must be far greater and wish to comfort them with the knowledge that Bob will not be forgotten. He was a great man and we will all miss him.

Douglas Golenbock, MD The Neil and Margery Blacklow Chair in Infectious Diseases and Immunology, Professor and Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology, The University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School