Dr. Philip Salem

Physician, researcher & educator

Dr. Salem, physician, researcher, educator, and international statesman in cancer medicine, serves as Director Emeritus of Cancer Research at Baylor/St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in Houston and is the President of Salem Oncology Center. In March 2010, St. Luke’s established a cancer research chair in his name to honor his contributions to cancer medicine and as “a lasting tribute to his leadership and vision in the field of oncology”. Besides his contributions to medicine, Dr. Salem has made major contributions to America. In the early 1990’s he served on a healthcare advisory committee to George H.W. Bush. In 1994 he received the Republican Senatorial Medal of Freedom, and in 1998 he was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for his “exceptional humanitarian efforts and outstanding contributions to American science”. In 2006 he was honored as ‘The Scientist of the Year’ by the National Italian Foundation for the Promotion of Science and Culture. Dr. Salem is a renaissance intellectual and writer. He is the author of many editorials and books on Lebanon, and he has published extensively on Arab affairs. In the year 2000, he was awarded the Gibran International Award by the Arabic Heritage League in Sydney, Australia. In May 2000 he was selected the ‘Arab American of the Year’ by the Arab Community Centre for Economic and Social Services in Dearborn, Michigan. In 2010 The Lebanese American University in Lebanon(LAU) bestowed upon him an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters for his “contributions to medicine, Arabic literature, and philosophy”. For the same reasons, another Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters was bestowed upon him by the Notre Dame University of Lebanon in 2013. In addition to the awards and honors, six books have been published about him. Dr. Salem is a Lebanese Nationalist and a political activist. He strongly supports the movement for political change in Lebanon.