Yale Cancer Center and Smilow Cancer Hospital Receive $1 Million Gift From Grateful Donor for Compassionate Patient Care

Daniel M. Koenigsberg, YC ’62, MD, vividly remembers the compassionate care his late wife, Susan, received at Smilow Cancer Hospital while being treated for pancreatic cancer. Every two weeks, she would be greeted by the same nurse, a comforting constant during her chemotherapy sessions.

Among the many small acts of kindness, the nurse would prepare Susan's favorite tea and offer her a warm blanket, making her feel valued and cared for during such a challenging time. These simple gestures were far more than just routines; they were symbols of genuine concern and attentiveness that touched both Koenigsberg and his wife deeply.

“At Smilow, she was treated with dignity and respect,” Koenigsberg recalls. “The staff’s commitment to personal care was so evident and vital during such a difficult period. This customer-oriented philosophy clearly came from the top of the organization.”

Koenigsberg recognized this extraordinary patient care delivery by gifting $1 million to Yale Cancer Center (YCC) and Smilow Cancer Hospital.

Koenigsberg’s philanthropy establishes an endowment that focuses on pancreatic cancer research. The fund will enhance multiple initiatives, including seed grants for pilot projects, the establishment of a fellowship in gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, the creation of a biorepository for tissue samples, and an annual lectureship. It will also provide support for faculty research endeavors and help to ensure sustained support for future initiatives.

The inaugural Dr. Daniel and Susan Koenigsberg Pancreatic Cancer Research Lecture series was launched on September 16, 2025, with a visiting professor from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine addressing the role of vaccines in anti-tumor immune responses.

“Early detection of silent cancers, like pancreatic cancer, is critical,” Koenigsberg explains. “Our gift aims to support research that identifies biomarkers and genetic predispositions to these illnesses.”

Pam L. Kunz, MD, professor of internal medicine (medical oncology), director of the Center for Gastrointestinal Cancers at Smilow Cancer Hospital and Yale Cancer Center, and chief of GI medical oncology, is grateful for Koenigsberg’s philanthropy.

“Dan’s gift will be transformational for our program as it will galvanize team science in GI cancers,” she says. “His gift will provide funding for an annual seed grant for pancreatic cancer research and foundational support for our GI Tumor Biorepository. Philanthropic support is vital now more than ever, and Dan’s gift will undoubtedly have great return on investment, given the cascade effect of support to new multidisciplinary teams and early career investigators.”

Koenigsberg previously endowed a gift to support the research of Jill Lacy, MD ’78, professor of medicine (medical oncology) at Yale School of Medicine (YSM), who was his wife’s attending physician at the time. “I appreciated Dr. Lacy’s thorough yet compassionate approach to patient care,” he explains.

Koenigsberg is the retired chair of the Department of Psychiatry at Yale New Haven Hospital Saint Raphael Campus and associate clinical professor at YSM. He spent 25 years at Saint Raphael, where he created new inpatient and outpatient programs and established a division of child and adolescent psychiatry. He later became vice chair and then chief of psychiatry at the hospital, where he also served on its medical board.

Raised in New Haven, Koenigsberg attended the Hopkins School, a private day school in New Haven, as a “work scholar,” an arrangement that required him to wait on tables, work in the kitchen, and chop wood on weekends for the headmaster’s home. This rigorous routine instilled in him a robust work ethic.

“Even though I was a scholarship student waiting on others, I never felt any class distinction,” he shares. “If anything, these experiences taught me the value of hard work and resilience.”

Music played a significant role early in his life. Along with his older brother and younger sister, he began playing the violin at the age of 5. Their dedication and talent led them to winning a competition and a performance at Carnegie Hall when Koenigsberg was 12 years old. This early exposure to music deeply ingrained his lifelong appreciation for the arts.

“Integrity was an important family value,” says Koenigsberg. “And doing unto others as you would have them do unto you,” he adds. “I would say that the emphasis on integrity was more from my father and altruism was from my mother, whose insistence on sharing was a constant lesson.”

For example, Koenigsberg was allowed to use the family car on weekends under the condition that he offer rides to those waiting at bus stops. “She felt I should share it with other people, whoever they were. I think that mindset and engagement with the world around us laid a foundation for philanthropic efforts,” he notes.

“My parents fostered an intellectual environment, where discussions at the dinner table often revolved around current events and international affairs.” These conversations sparked curiosity and a broader worldview, further contributing to Koenigsberg’s desire to have a positive impact on society.

While at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Koenigsberg applied for and received a scholarship from the U.S. Navy. “I wanted to be able to pay my own tuition and to give back to the country I value so highly,” he explains. Initially, Koenigsberg started to train as a flight surgeon. However, the nine-month deployments on aircraft carriers posed a significant challenge with his plans to get married, and the prospect was not tenable.

Koenigsberg served as a general medical officer at a naval hospital in southern Japan for three years. In one of those years, he functioned as the squadron medical officer for a flotilla of minesweepers in Vietnam waters, for which he received a Letter of Commendation. At another time, he served for a year as an anesthesiologist at the hospital (after training in a six-week “crash course”).

After three years, Koenigsberg retired with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. “Serving in the Navy was a way to contribute to my country and also gain invaluable clinical experience,” he says. “It also gave me an opportunity to travel and see the world.”

As a Yale College alumnus, Koenigsberg has maintained an unwavering commitment to the university for decades. He has served in various capacities on Yale and community boards and has been actively involved in alumni affairs. His contributions are extensive; he chaired two Yale class reunions, serves as the Class of 1962 treasurer, and is an associate fellow at Silliman College.

He is currently the president of Yale Club of New Haven and a Sterling Fellow, a program that includes Yale’s most loyal and generous benefactors. Having sung in the Yale Glee Club, Koenigsberg also performs with the Yale Alumni Chorus internationally. He played the violin with the Yale Medical Symphony Orchestra for several years until recently.

One significant aspect of his legacy at Yale is his dedication to supporting students in need. Koenigsberg and his wife endowed an undergraduate scholarship, making a Yale education accessible to those who might otherwise not have the opportunity.

One of the first recipients of the Daniel M. and Susan P. Koenigsberg Scholarship was a young woman from a rural area in Connecticut who initially questioned her ability to compete academically at Yale. Koenigsberg’s encouragement and mentorship helped her thrive. She graduated magna cum laude and later earned a PhD from Cambridge University. Today, she is a faculty member at Oxford University, a testament to the transformative power of education and mentorship.

“A Yale education is a privilege I wished to extend to others,” he says. “Many Koenigsberg scholars have benefited from these scholarships, achieving significant accomplishments.”

Koenigsberg’s dedication to psychiatry has been widely recognized. He completed a two-year residency in psychiatry at then Cornell-New York Hospital and a two-year fellowship at Yale Child Study Center in adolescent and child psychiatry. His contributions to the field have extended beyond patient care and included advocacy and education.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) recognized Koenigsberg’s substantial contributions by honoring him with the 2012 NAMI Exemplary Psychiatrist Award. He was one of 15 psychiatrists honored nationwide and the only one from Connecticut. This recognition highlighted his dedication to treating mental illness, educating the public, and advocating for the elimination of stigma surrounding mental health.

Koenigsberg is driven by a desire to “leave the world a better place than I found it. Wealth should not be an end in itself but a means to help others,” he says. He hopes that his contributions will inspire others to support important causes and that his philanthropy will leave a meaningful legacy for his children and future generations.

“Creating a legacy is about moving society forward, even in small ways,” Koenigsberg reflects.