Laurie Glimcher

Glimcher graduated from the Winsor School, an all-girls private school in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1968. In 1972, she graduated magna cum laude from Radcliffe College, and then graduated cum laude from Harvard Medical School in 1976.

She joined the board of directors of Bristol-Myers Squibb in 1997 and retired from the board in 2017. In 2017, she joined the board of GlaxoSmithKline. Her research laboratory received funding from Merck & Co for a project focused on developing new therapies for the treatment of osteoporosis in 2008.

From 1991 to 2012, Glimcher was the Irene Heinz Given Professor of Immunology at the Harvard School of Public Health, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School. Clinically, she is a specialist in rheumatology.

From 2012 to 2016, Glimcher served as the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College and the Cornell University Provost for Medical Affairs.

In February 2016, Laurie Glimcher was named the president and CEO of Dana–Farber Cancer Institute. Glimcher was considered for the position for the Dean of Harvard Medical School but turned the position down in order to become the president of the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute.

At Dana-Farber, Glimcher collaborated on research to find methods of combatting cancer from within the human immune system.The Dana–Farber Cancer Institute is an institution that is affiliated with Harvard, as it currently is one of its teaching hospitals. Glimcher, who was the first female dean of any medical school in New York state, became the first female to lead the Dana–Farber Cancer Institute.

In 2017, she joined the board of GlaxoSmithKline. In 2020, she joined the board of Analog Devices. She has retired from both boards.

In October 2024, Glimcher stepped down as president and CEO of Dana-Farber after eight years as president and CEO, citing her age (73) and the fact that she had successfully steered the Dana-Farber through the COVID crisis and obtained governmental approval of the building of a new, 300-bed, dedicated cancer hospital in collaboration with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Under Glimcher’s leadership, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s regional locations grew from four to seven, and there was a 51% growth in patient volume and a 62% increase in grant and industry-funded research support, totaling $450 million in FY23. She also led The Dana-Farber Campaign, the most ambitious fundraising effort in the history of the Institute which will close at the end of September exceeding its original goal and providing critical funds in support of groundbreaking science, innovative new therapies, and institutional initiatives.

In 2025, the Dana-Farber established the Laurie H. Glimcher, MD, Chair, an endowed position honoring her as the Institute’s seventh president and CEO. This endowment "celebrates Glimcher’s significant contributions to cancer science and medicine and ensures the pursuit of innovative and groundbreaking advancements in cancer research. A generous group of Trustees, colleagues, friends, and supporters contributed over $3 million to establish the chair and commemorate Glimcher’s legacy."

Glimcher is the daughter of Geraldine Lee (Bogolub) and Melvin J. Glimcher, who was a pioneer in the development of artificial limbs while the chair of the Massachusetts General Hospital Orthopedics Department. Her family is Jewish.

Glimcher followed in the footsteps of her father by later becoming a full professor at Harvard Medical School at the age of 39; the two became research partners.

Glimcher was married to Hugh Auchincloss, who was the top deputy to Dr. Anthony Fauci, and prior to that was a chief of transplant surgery at Brigham & Women's Hospital, They had three children, Kalah, Hugh and Jake Auchincloss.

She is currently married to Gregory Petsko, Professor of Neurology in the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, who was director of the Rosenstiel Basic Medical Sciences Research Center and chair of biochemistry at Brandeis University prior to moving to Weill Cornell Medicine, where he became director of the Helen and Robert Appel Alzheimer's Disease Research Institute. On October 24, 2023 he was awarded the National Medal of Science by President Joe Biden; the National Medal of Science is the nation’s highest scientific honor.

Her daughter, Kalah Auchincloss is the Co-Founder and President of Canal Row Advisors, which helps companies navigate the FDA's complexities. Before that she was a senior vice president of regulatory compliance and deputy general counsel for Greenleaf Health and previously was deputy chief of staff for two Food and Drug Administration commissioners. Her eldest son, Hugh Glimcher Auchincloss, is a thoracic surgeon at Massachusetts General Hospital. Her younger son, Jake Auchincloss, is a United State Congressman, the Representative for Massachusetts's 4th Congressional District.