David G. Poplack, M.D., has served as Director, Texas Children’s Cancer Center since 1993. He holds the Elise C. Young Chair of Pediatric Oncology and is Chief of the Hematology-Oncology Service, Pediatric Department, Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Poplack leads the country’s largest Pediatric Hematology-Oncology program.
Dr. Poplack is a graduate of Tufts University. He received his M.D. from Boston University School of Medicine, completed his pediatric internship at Stanford University, his pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital in Boston and his pediatric hematology-oncology fellowship at the National Cancer Institute in Bethesda, Maryland. Prior to joining Texas Children’s Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Poplack was Deputy Branch Chief of the Pediatric Branch, National Cancer Institute.
Dr. Poplack is internationally recognized as a leader in the field of pediatric cancer. He has authored more than 365 original articles and book chapters in the field. He is co-editor of Principles and Practice of Pediatric Oncology, the leading textbook of pediatric oncology, which is in its seventh edition. Dr. Poplack has served on many national and international committees, including panel appointments at the National Institutes of Health, the F.D.A. and the Institute of Medicine and as an appointed member of the National Cancer Institute’s Board of Scientific Counselors. In 2016, Dr. Poplack was awarded the American Society of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Distinguished Career Award as well as the Hyundai Hope on Wheels Lifetime Achievement Award.
Dr. Poplack is the developer of the Passport for Care, a unique, web-based resource that provides childhood cancer survivors with a personalized plan to guide their long-term follow-up. This system, available on survivors’ smart phones, is being used by tens of thousands of survivors nationwide.
Dr. Poplack also is the Director of Texas Children’s Hospitals’ Global HOPE (Hematology-Oncology Pediatric Excellence) program. This transformative, capacity building program is establishing seven Centers of Excellence in Pediatric Cancer and Hematology care in six Sub-Saharan African countries.
Dr. Poplack is known for his mentorship. He has trained many of the current leaders in the field of pediatric hematology-oncology. He and his wife, June Poplack, have three children and three grandchildren.