Researcher balances family, work

Leukemia Program Director at Penn's Abramson Cancer Center Selina Luger traces her academic interest in cancers of the blood and bone marrow to one of the first patients she saw as a second-year medical student.

Mr. Retallack -- an 80-year-old with a low blood count -- was under her care for a month, during which she got to know him and his family and worked to understand the mysterious behavior of his blood cells. Retallack died of a stroke on Luger's last day of service, and his relatives sent her flowers.

She speculates now that Retallack suffered from the bone marrow disease myelodysplasia, which is the subject of two ongoing clinical research studies under her direction.

Luger, who has headed the leukemia program for five years, is currently involved in 12 research studies both at Penn's School of Medicine and other institutions nationwide. She also sees patients at the Abramson Center and trains residents and medical students.

One of her projects involves inhibiting the expression of a gene that is necessary for cancerous cells to survive.

She will be honored for her work on March 20 with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Hope Award for Medical Achievement. The same organization named her the Woman of the Year in 2000 for her fundraising successes.

Luger is also the mother of two young daughters, ages 4 and 5. Her computer desktop at work -- where she writes research protocols and business e-mails -- contains a photo of three blonde, smiling children at a picnic table, her daughters and her niece.

Managing her job responsibilities and her home life requires "a lot of organization and a lot of juggling."

Describing a typical day, Luger said she gets up at 6 a.m. to work or exercise before waking her children at 7:15. She eats breakfast with them and then goes to work.

When she returns home at 7 p.m., Luger puts her daughters to bed and then makes dinner. Depending on the night, she may be up until 2 a.m. doing additional work. "I don't need a lot of sleep," she says.

"I get tired just listening to her schedule," says her sister Rhona Luger. "She's one of those people who's like the Energizer bunny."

Rhona adds that Luger's husband and fellow oncologist Michel Hoessly is very supportive, and they help each other to lead balanced lives.

"They each think the other is the best thing since sliced bread," Rhona says.

Luger's high-energy lifestyle carries over from her childhood and adolescence, when she was heavily involved in extracurricular activities and was a procrastinator who never started her homework before midnight.

Her father was a Holocaust survivor and a real estate firm manager, and her mother took night classes towards a bachelor's degree. Luger, whose only sibling is Rhona, attended a small Jewish day school in Montreal, where she "never really worked very hard."

Luger still maintained top grades, did community service and was president of the student council. She went on to attend Harvard University and McGill University Medical School in Montreal. Luger completed her residency at the University of Pittsburgh and her fellowship at Penn.

Though she always wanted to be a doctor, Luger's specific academic path was determined by "patients with leukemia who I took care of when I was in training [who] stuck with me."

Luger finds her present work with leukemia and related diseases exciting.

"It changes from year to year, the way we approach it. We learn more about it, we're able to do more things," she says.

People who know Luger socially are impressed with her combination of work ethic and dedication to her family and friends. Dental hygienist Jill Federman met Luger five years ago through a play group their children are both in.

"She just holds it together," Federman says. "She has it all worked out."

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