1/ Sometimes coincidence makes you take a beat. Today is day +6,209 (17 years) since my allogeneic bone marrow transplant for relapsed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Today I am rounding as the inpatient leukemia attending. I brought cake.
2/ And I’ve tweeted my annual transplant anniversary before—worthy of much celebration—but this year is different. Even different from my 10 years cancer free as a @sloan_kettering fellow on the BMT service. 
3/ Because this year, while I celebrate on service, it’s also my last week as an attending physician at MSK.
4/ My training at MSK has been transformative. I came as a visiting medical student in 2008, working on the leukemia service and with Ken Offit.
5/ I was introduced to Ken Offit through my wife Aly (stick with me here). She, an actor, was working a side gig as the babysitter of a tween whose father was pathologically trying to make him a rockstar.
6/ The drummer of the band’s father was talking to Aly at a rehearsal, and when she told him I was a medical student, he offered his brother’s contact information in case “I wanted to talk to a NYC doctor.”
7/ After assuming for weeks that this “NYC doctor” was a private practice cardiologist on Park Ave, I finally googled his name, Ken Offit.
8/ I emailed Ken and told him of this super bizarre happenstance, after which he invited me for an away rotation. During that time he suggested I meet a new young physician scientist. His name: @rosslevinemd
9/ I will enshrine the details of how much Ross has impacted my life in a later Tweetorial, but that meeting was transformative. I matched to @WeillCornell IM residency and started as a first day intern on the GU service at MSK. Over 3 years of residency, I spent 7 months at MSK.
10/ I matched to MSK for fellowship and joined the @RossLevineLab. Here I met lifelong friends and colleagues. @Lindsay_LaFave @AbdelWahablab @shengfcai @bowman_rl @lindemilesphd They made me a scientist.
11/ After fellowship I joined the leukemia faculty at MSK. Working with the M12 nursing staff and the leukemia faculty and caring for our leukemia patients for the last 5 years has been an honor and a privilege.
12/ But over the last year with Ross’s unflappable support, I interviewed for independent investigator positions. I met and talked science with giants in my field. I envisioned how life would look in different cities, imagined possible career trajectories.
13/ Then COVID-19 hit. I was informed the morning of one interview that it was cancelled due to COVID shutdowns while sitting in the lobby. I became intimately acquainted with Zoom.
14/ Hiring freezes have rocked academic medical centers. I was directly impacted. Second interviews were cancelled. Draft terms were renegotiated. Offers were pulled.
15/ With Ross as my greatest advocate and the heroic efforts of @DrGarySchwartz, @ARustgi, and Emmanuelle Passegué, today, on the 17th anniversary of my bone marrow transplant, I am thrilled to announce that this Fall, I will open @cohesinlab at @columbiacancer @CSCIColumbia
16/ We will study how chromatin structural changes influence normal blood formation and how altered chromatin conformations lead to cancer. Our goal is and will always be to improve the lives of those affected by leukemia and other cancers. #payitforward
17/ I stand on the shoulders of giants. I am so grateful for the mentors, doctors, colleagues, and the science. Trust in science. Trust the experts. Vote. There is so much work left to do in this world. But for this moment right now, it’s time to have cake.
