Robert C. Knapp, M.D.

In appreciation for his commitment, dedication and enduring contributions to SUNY Downstate.

Dr. Robert C. Knapp, Visiting Scholar in Obstetrics and Gynecology at Weill Medical College of Cornell University, Is a 1953 graduate of SUNY Downstate College of medicine.  He completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology 1953 to 1958, under the direction of Dr. Louis Hellman.  Dr. Knapp’s major clinical contribution was in finding that ovarian cancer was not limited to the ovaries, and indeed was also present in the lymph nodes.  One of the most significant breakthroughs of his work was his co-development of the blood test CA125, now used worldwide to monitor patients receiving chemotherapy for ovarian cancer and to determine recurrence.  In 1975 Dr. Knapp was named the William H. Baker Professor of gynecology at Harvard Medical School.  He was the first director of gynecology and gynecologic oncology of the Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Dana Farber Cancer Institute.  The co-author of Gynecological Oncology, the leading test in the field, Dr. Knapp has also written 207 medical articles.  In 2006, Dr. Knapp funded a Scholarship for Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology of at Downstate which is awarded annually to resident of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology.  Dr. Knapp’s wife, Miriam H. Knapp was the sculptor of HYGEIA, which was installed in the Basic Sciences second floor lobby September 2007 with support of the Knapps and several private donors.