Elected 2000
Dr. Henderson is a nationally known expert on cancer, particularly breast cancer. He has authored or co-authored more than 200 publications; has received numerous professional awards, including a Fulbright Fellowship; and has appeared as an oncology expert on several network television programs. An Iowa native, Dr. Henderson received a degree from Grinnell College in 1963 with a major in history. He went on to graduate with an M.D. from Columbia University in New York in 1970. His career in medicine has included positions at Presbyterian Hospital in New York, the National Institute of Health, the Dana Farber Cancer Institute at Harvard Medical School in Boston, and the University of California-San Francisco Mt. Zion Medical Center. He was on the Harvard faculty for 18 years, and while there he built one of the first multidisciplinary breast clinics in the country. At UCSF he served as Professor of Medicine, Associate Director of the Clinical Cancer Center, and Chief of Medical Oncology. In 1992, he established the Bay Area Breast Cancer Translational Research Program, which is funded by a National Cancer Institute Specialized Program of Research Excellence (SPORE) grant. For the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, he chaired the Committee on Essential Drugs and was a member of the Expert Advisory Panel on Cancer. In 1995, he became CEO and Chair of SEQUUS Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company that developed a new drug delivery system and produced a new, highly successful anticancer drug. In 1999, SEQUUS was acquired by ALZA Corporation. Dr. Henderson served on the ALZA board until it merged with Johnson and Johnson in 2001. In 2001 he worked with a partner in New York City to found a new biotechnology company, Access Oncology Inc., which was merged with Keryx Biopharmaceuticals in 2004. Dr. Henderson continued as president of Keryx until 2008. He continues as an Adjunct Professor of Medicine at UCSF, where he sees patients and participates in the leadership of the SPORE program. His ties with Grinnell College have remained steadfast over the years. Two of his children graduated from the College; he received the Alumni Award in 1993 and an honorary Doctor of Science degree in 1994; and he has been a valued volunteer for several alumni and career development programs.
