We are honored to spotlight one of the newest members of our Buffalo Jewish medical community, Kenan (Ken) Onel, MD, PhD.  Ken serves as the Chief of Clinical Genomics and Director of the Center for Precision Oncology and Cancer Prevention at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center. His goal is to build a novel and innovative medical specialty home to diagnose and provide ongoing precision care for patients and families at high risk of cancer because of their genetics or family history.   

Ken graduated with both a BS and an MA in Modern European History from Yale University.  He is especially proud of his Masters work at Yale, where he focused on the secondary Nuremberg trials.  While at Yale, Ken helped found the Yale Holocaust video archives. Part of his motivation was to enable a visit from Israel by his grandmother and aunt who provided testimony for the Yale Holocaust archives.   

Ken earned his MD and a PhD in Molecular Biology from the Weill Cornell/Rockefeller/Memorial Sloan-Kettering Tri-Institutional MD-PhD program. He completed his residency in Pediatrics at the Babies and Children’s Hospital of New York (Columbia University Medical Center), and his fellowship in Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. He completed a post-doctoral scholar in cancer genetics at Rockefeller University.  

Ken is a part-time resident in Buffalo travelling her weekly from his home in Manhattan. While in Buffalo he has enjoyed the Buffalo restaurant scene, architecture, and outdoor adventures. He is a huge fan of AKG and of all things Buffalo.   

Ken and his wife Karen are members of the Park Avenue Synagogue and active in NYC-based Jewish philanthropy. The family are strong supporters of the Jewish Braille institute and Yiddish theater in NYC.   The Onels have two daughters, Lauren, who is doing a PhD in Religious Studies at Princeton and Emily, a Cornell graduate, who is currently working at a NYC law firm Skadden, Arps and applying to law school.  

Many thanks to Judith Epstein, Member of Temple Beth Tzedek and Director, Grant and Foundation Development, at Roswell Park for submitting today’s spotlight.