A Family Affair

Over the Years, Fox Chase Faculty and Staff Have Had Children Follow in Their Footsteps

A Son Continues a Legacy of Cancer Research

ERIC A. ROSS, PHD, SCM

Assistant Vice President of Biometrics and Information Sciences
Director, Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Facility
Director, Population Studies Facility
Research Professor

I have studied the biostatistical and bioinformatics side of cancer research at Fox Chase since 1989. However, my interest in this career path and my connection to Fox Chase began much earlier.

My father, Dr. Morris H. Ross, came to work at the Institute for Cancer Research in 1969, five years before it merged with the American Oncologic Hospital to form Fox Chase Cancer Center. He held a veterinary medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania and was one of the first researchers to look at the effect of diet on the probability of developing cancer later in life. He ultimately earned the title of senior member at Fox Chase, which in today’s parlance would be called a full professor. He continued his research at the center until 1984.

“My father imparted his love of science on me and my brothers from an early age. … I became a biostatistician and was persuaded to pursue this career at Fox Chase after doing a summer internship at the center in 1977. ”

My father imparted his love of science to me and my brothers from an early age. He conducted home experiments with us and purchased a chemistry set so we could create reactions on our own. My eldest brother eventually became a surgeon, and my middle brother worked in healthcare administration. I became a biostatistician and was persuaded to pursue this career at Fox Chase after doing a summer internship at the center in 1977.

Just as my father’s passion for science and medicine filtered down to my brothers and me, my love of these subjects has filtered down to my children. My son is in the process of earning his doctorate in biomedical engineering, and my daughter is training to be a pulmonologist. Both completed undergraduate internships in labs at Fox Chase, so perhaps their experiences will persuade them to return to Fox Chase, just as mine did.

Mother and Son
Have a Loc on Nursing Care

JUDY LOC, BSN, RN

Outpatient Theranostics Program

TYLER LOC, BSN, RN

Ambulatory Care

Judy Loc could not make it to work on January 11, 2024, the day her son Tyler received his DAISY Award at Fox Chase Cancer Center. She was home recovering from COVID-19, but she knew full well the mix of pride and appreciation of recognition that comes from receiving a DAISY Award, having won the nursing excellence award herself the previous January.

“Even Tyler admits that it was a difficult transition as a young nurse to follow a parent — particularly one with Judy’s stellar reputation — into the workplace.”

Judy was nominated for the nursing leadership she provides in Fox Chase’s Outpatient Theranostics Program as well as the level of attention she freely gives to patients. Tyler Loc joined Fox Chase in February of 2022 and works in the West Triage Area of Ambulatory Care, his mother’s former unit.

In addition to sharing a bloodline, a strong work ethic, and an employer, the key Loc family trait seems to be compassion: Tyler’s sister recently graduated with a nursing degree but does not work for Fox Chase. Yet.

Even Tyler admits that it was a difficult transition as a young nurse to follow a parent — particularly one with Judy’s stellar reputation — into the workplace. Judy has become a legendary figure to patients and co-workers alike. In 2022, she was recruited from Ambulatory Care to Infusion Services, where she helped start up the theranostics program, which uses radiological tracers to diagnose and treat cancers.

It’s not hard to get a mother to say nice things about her son, and Judy Loc is no exception.

“While it is a little strange seeing your son at work, it is really nice too. Tyler was always an empathetic child, always sensitive to how other people feel, and I am proud to see how he brings that sensitivity to nursing,” said Judy.

A Family Tradition of Cancer Care

JOSEPH TREAT, MD

Medical Director, Ambulatory Care
Professor, Department of Hematology/Oncology

Ihave been a medical oncologist at Fox Chase since 1999, where I diagnose, treat, and care for patients with chest malignancies, but I have an earlier connection to this place. My mother, Carmen Labra Treat, MD, was the pediatric oncologist here during the 1970s and 1980s. This was the era when a cancer center was required to have a pediatric division to receive federal comprehensive status.

“My mother was immensely proud of and loved her time at Fox Chase. I feel the same way.”

My mother was born in Mexico City and graduated from the finest university and medical school in Mexico, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, in the late 1940s. There were only two women in her class.

She did her clinical training in Boston, where she was directly mentored by Sydney Farber, MD, a giant in the history of oncology, when there was no recognized oncology specialty at the time.

My mother went on to spend the first half of her career as a member of the distinguished pediatric oncology group at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. The second half of her career was spent at Fox Chase. When I was a medical student she arranged a clinical rotation here as my introduction to oncology, but we never worked together because she died in 1993.

One memory always comes to mind. I was attending my lung clinic with a fellow here around the year 2000. A woman who looked to be in her 40s wearing an employee ID badge came up to me and told me she knew my mother.

I was confused because my mother had died quite a few years ago and had not worked here in decades. So, I asked her how she knew my mother, and she told me that when she was nine years old, my mother had treated her for leukemia, and she was in long-term remission.

My mother was immensely proud of and loved her time at Fox Chase. I feel the same way.