No Ordinary Profession

Medicine is no ordinary profession. I am reminded of this often—in conversations with students, in the dedication of our faculty and staff, and in the quiet moments when patients and families place their hope in us. We are a learned profession, entrusted by society with responsibilities that extend well beyond technical expertise and individual achievement. 

At its best, medicine asks much of us: time, effort, curiosity, discovery, service, and empathy. It asks us to bring our full intellect to complex problems, while never losing sight of the dignity, vulnerability, and hopes of the people who depend on our care. 

Over the years, I often return to Justice Louis Brandeis’s definition of a learned profession. A profession, he observed, is an occupation for which the necessary preliminary training is intellectual in character, involving knowledge and learning rather than mere skill. It is pursued largely for the benefit of others, not simply for oneself. And it is an occupation in which the amount of financial return is not the only measure of success. Those words have always struck me as both an aspiration and a reminder of the trust we inherit when we enter medicine. 

To these prevailing definitions, I would add a fourth: a learned profession must be self-improving in both its scientific knowledge and its standards of practice. Medicine is never static. What we understand today may be refined, revised, or transformed tomorrow. That reality should keep us humble, but it should also encourage us, because it means that every discovery, every thoughtful question, and every act of care can help us do better for the next patient. 

Across Feinberg and our health systems, I see this commitment every day. It is visible in laboratories, clinics, classrooms, operating rooms, and community settings, where colleagues bring extraordinary skill and humanity to their work. Northwestern Medicine, our shared enterprise, embodies these ideals as a learning organization grounded in leadership, propelled by innovation, and united by compassionate care that translates new knowledge into better human health. 

In this issue, you will find stories that bring these values to life. Resistance Fighters tells the story of Feinberg scientists working with determination and resolve to develop new treatments, identify new therapeutic targets, and move us closer to a future in which pancreatic cancer may be managed as a chronic disease rather than feared as a death sentence. Their work reflects the kind of persistence and hope that make academic medicine so meaningful. 

Advances in Computational Genomics introduces a field at the convergence of biology, computer science, statistics, and mathematics. Computational genomics is transforming our capacity to analyze and interpret large-scale genetic data, and in the age of artificial intelligence, it offers new ways to make sense of biological complexity that would have been impossible to grasp by hand. It is a powerful example of how discovery increasingly depends on collaboration across disciplines and on the courage to ask new kinds of questions. 

In Transplanting New Hope we see how advanced approaches in transplant oncology—including the RAPID two-stage procedure and machine-perfused splitting of deceased donor livers—may offer carefully selected patients with stage IV colorectal cancer and liver-only metastases a potentially curative option, particularly for those disadvantaged by current organ allocation policies. Behind this innovation is something deeply human: the possibility of more time, more options, and renewed hope for patients and their families. 

Finally, in our leadership profile Leading with Precision, we meet Mohamed Abazeed, MD, PhD, Northwestern’s new chair of the Department of Radiation Oncology. Dr. Abazeed is helping redesign how cancer care is delivered at the forefront of precision cancer therapy, while keeping the patient—and the human dimensions of care—firmly at the center. His leadership reminds us that precision and compassion are not separate ambitions; in medicine, they belong together. 

I hope you come away from these stories as encouraged and inspired as I have been. They reflect the work of remarkable scientific and clinical leaders, as do many colleagues across our campus whose names may not always appear on these pages, but whose contributions shape the life of our institution. Together, they demonstrate the intellectualism, humanism, commitment, character, innovation, and excellence that define academic medicine at its best. 

Sincerely,

Eric G. Neilson, MD
Vice President for Medical Affairs
Lewis Landsberg Dean
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

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