Treating theToughest Cancer Cases in Children ESTHER BERKO, M.D. PH.D. ’05 Stern College for Women ’14 M.D./Ph.D. Albert Einstein College of Medicine Physician-Scientist, Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Schneider Children’s Medical Center Israel Clinical Instructor, Tel Aviv University Research Associate, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
D r. Esther Berko spends her days trying to change a terrifying reality. As a pediatric oncologist, Dr. Berko specializes in the most difficult of cases: children with neuroblas- toma, the most common malignant solid tumor of childhood. Unlike childhood leukemia, in which recent advances in drug development and immunotherapy have led to a 90% cure rate, pediatric solid tumors remain very difficult to treat. Because Dr. Berko is a physician-scientist—holding both a medical degree and doctoral degree in genetics—she comes at her job from a unique angle, bringing two worlds together: In the clinic, she sees young cancer patients; in the molecular lab, she works to advance cancer research for these children. “I feel so privileged to do the work I do,” said Dr. Berko, who lives in Israel with her husband (also a physician) and four chil- dren, ages 2 to 14. “It fits exactly with my values of helping people and contributing meaningfully to their lives.” Dr. Berko and her colleagues are battling cancer on many fronts. At the cancer lab at the Children’s Hospital of Philadel- phia, they are incorporating precision genomics into the diagno- sis and treatment of neuroblastoma, developing targeted thera- pies that are more effective and less toxic than current treatments. Dr. Berko is also hard at work perfecting liquid biop- sies, a noninvasive and more effective alternative to tissue biopsy, specifically for children. “There’s a global evolution specifically innovating new techniques in liquid biopsy, analyzing molecular profiles through blood,” she explained. Although she found her calling early—“I always wanted to be a doctor and save people”—it was at Stern College for Women that Dean Karen Bacon, Dr. Jeffrey Weisburg and Dr. Harvey Babich pointed her toward the physician-scientist model. “I would not have pursued an M.D./Ph.D. without YU opening my eyes to what was possible and encouraging me to pursue it,” she said. When Dr. Berko began medical school at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 2006, there were very few Orthodox women in the field. Today, that’s completely changed, she said,
thanks in large part to Stern College’s Anne Schreiber Scholar- ship, which provides full tuition to women going into health fields. At Einstein, Dr. Berko worked with Dr. John Greally, a pediat- ric geneticist and physician-scientist who was particularly sup- portive of women pursuing scientific fields. She fell in love with pediatrics and saw oncology as the ideal “bench-to-bedside” field—working in a lab, sequencing tumors, she took that data back to work with patients. “It was the perfect intersection be- tween medicine and science and treating patients on many lev- els,” she said. “I knew this was the path for me.” As rewarding as her career has been, there’s no escape from its most painful part: delivering bad news to parents—which may include the phrase “incurable brain cancer.” To prepare herself, she calls on her training and her spiritual foundation. “I keep in mind Ve-ahavta le-reiakha kamokha: You shall love your fellow as yourself,” she said. “I can’t give empty promises, but I can give bad news compassionately, sit with them in the horribleness and always maintain hope.” In 2020, Dr. Berko made aliyah, following her parents and sib- lings. It was a lifelong dream of her mother’s, a daughter of Holo- caust survivors and an ardent Zionist. Today, Dr. Berko works 10 to 14 hours a day—at a clinic, as an instructor and as a researcher by night, on Zoom meetings with colleagues in the United States. It’s not always easy juggling motherhood and life as an in- demand doctor. But her children are wise beyond their years. “My kids know I’m taking care of sick kids, and they respect that,” she said. “They have a strong awareness of much bigger worlds around them, and that has enriched them. And for me, confronting the gravity of what I do every day helps me appreci- ate life, gives purpose and meaning to existence and makes it all worth it.”
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YU Today : Powered by Innovators, Guided by Values
YU Today : Powered by Innovators, Guided by Values
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