During Mendelsohn's tenure, MD Anderson's revenue increased from $726 million to $3.1 billion, and its facilities grew from 3.4 million sq. ft. to 15.2 million sq. ft. The number of employees and patients served doubled and private philanthropy increased almost tenfold, with more than $2 billion raised.

Under his leadership, MD Anderson opened the Lowry and Peggy Mays Clinic; the 320-bed addition atop the Alkek Hospital; the T. Boone Pickens Academic Tower; the Proton Therapy Center; and the 126-room expansion of the Rotary House International Hotel. He also oversaw the creation of the Duncan Family Institute for Cancer Prevention and Risk Assessment in the Dan L. Duncan Building. In recognition of his many contributions, the John Mendelsohn Faculty Center was dedicated on Feb. 8, 2012.


One of his major achievements was planning The University of Texas Research Park south of MD Anderson's main campus and launching the Red and Charline McCombs Institute for the Early Detection and Treatment of Cancer there. Each center was built so that basic and clinical researchers from multiple departments and different disciplines could collaborate more effectively.

"John Mendelsohn was a builder and a dreamer who made things happen. His passion for curing cancer in all forms helped transform the medical community in Houston, Texas and the nation and, in doing so, established MD Anderson as the pre-eminent cancer institution in the world," said T. Boone Pickens, philanthropist and former chair of the MD Anderson Cancer Center Board of Visitors. "My thoughts and prayers are with his family as we pause together to commemorate his lasting legacy. We will one day succeed in ridding the world of cancer, and see John as a true pioneer in this fight."

After completing his tenure as MD Anderson's president in August 2011, Mendelsohn took a six-month sabbatical to refresh his scientific skills with prominent researchers at Harvard, MIT and other academic centers in the Boston area. He returned to MD Anderson in March 2012 to co-lead the Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayad Al Nahyan Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy (IPCT) and advance personalized medicine.

"Dr. Mendelsohn was an outstanding leader, mentor and team builder, and I feel fortunate to have worked so closely with him to advance the work of the Institute for Personalized Cancer Therapy," said Funda Meric-Bernstam, M.D., medical director of the IPCT. "Together, with our team, we built one of the top precision oncology programs in the world so patients could be matched with optimal therapies. Dr. Mendelsohn was the consummate physician-scientist who always thought about how we could better impact patient outcomes."

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