Love Story

On his first day at Jefferson, Leonard Zon stepped onto the elevator with fellow first-year Lynda Schneider. “Nice, but I would never go out with her,” he thought. “Not my type,” she thought. Neither was interested in getting into a relationship at the time.

A few months later, Zon saw Schneider again in anatomy class. He decided this time he would make a move. So he sauntered over to her as she stood above the cadaver she was dissecting, and delivered his killer pickup line: “Nice body.”

She wasn’t impressed.

Although she didn’t take the bait right away, a few months later Schneider eventually agreed to a date. By the end of freshman year, they were a couple. They stayed together through medical school, graduated in 1983, were granted a couples match for residency in Boston, and married in 1985.

Since that time, they have become a power couple in medicine. Patient care, research, teaching—they do it all. And they still have time to dance.

Leonard Zon, MD '83, a pediatric cancer specialist, is internationally recognized for his pioneering research in the new fields of stem cell biology and cancer genetics. He is director of the Stem Cell Program at Boston Children’s Hospital; the Grousbeck Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School; and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He has been the president of the International Society for Stem Cell Research and also the American Society for Clinical Investigation; head of the external investigators of the Zebrafish Genome Institution; and chairman of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute Executive Committee.

In 2002, Zon established an International Society for Stem Cell Research, consisting of 4,500 researchers from about 60 countries. The ISSCR promotes global collaboration among the world’s most talented and committed stem cell scientists and physicians, and plays a catalyzing role in the development of effective new medical treatments.

Lynda Schneider, MD '83, is director of the Allergy Program and of the Division of Immunology Clinical Research Program at Boston Children’s Hospital; founder and director of the Atopic Dermatitis Center; and professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. An award-winning researcher, she's currently focused on improving the care of patients with atopic dermatitis and developing treatments for food allergies.

Both credit Jefferson for setting them on the path to success in their respective fields.

“Jefferson offers great opportunities," Zon says, "from research to clinical care. That set me up for my entire life as a scientist.” He pauses for a second, and quickly adds: “And most importantly, I met my wife there!”

Schneider smiles. She concurs the education and training couldn’t have been better, noting that “the clinical rotations offered a great mix of experiences and really prepared me for my residency.”

“The people you meet at Jefferson are quite incredible,” Schneider says. After a moment, she adds, “And, of course, I met my husband there.”

Love Means Never Having to Say “I’m Studying”

Zon and Schneider are living proof of the theory that opposites attract.

During medical school, Zon was the extrovert. He liked to party. He was always on the move. He played trumpet in the orchestra, competed on the rugby team, was a member of a fraternity, and served as president of student council.

Schneider was studious and on the shy side, spending most of her time in the library and serving as student council treasurer.

When she first met Zon, Schneider says he just wasn’t her type: “He was too energetic.”

She only agreed to their first date because she was too embarrassed to admit in front of her classmates that she was planning on staying in and studying on a Saturday night. But after that date, she knew he was “the one.” The feeling was mutual.

Today, Zon is still the outgoing one and Schneider is still on the quiet side. But they look at their differences as beneficial; “We complement each other,” Zon says.

Life Experiences Shaped Life’s Work

Zon and Schneider explain that they chose their specialties based on very personal experiences.

Zon’s interest in cancer research began by chance after his freshman year in college, when he was chosen for a summer internship at Roswell Park Memorial Cancer Institute in Buffalo. A few years later, during his senior year at Jefferson, his interest deepened when he lost his mother to breast cancer, inspiring him to use his abilities in the laboratory to conduct research on cancer stem cell biology. Today, he runs a 42-person laboratory with multiple drugs in several trial phases.

Zon’s current research centers on zebrafish in the search for cures for cancer and blood disorders. He is an expert on blood stem cells. The work has the potential to lead to the development of drugs that could provide effective treatments against certain kinds of tumors and a rare condition called Diamond-Blackfan anemia. Zon’s laboratory is also using zebrafish to study melanoma, with an eye toward

developing skin creams that would stop the cancer before it even begins.

Schneider’s interest in her field was also very personal—growing up, she suffered with a lot of allergies. She says she was drawn to the field because of the ability to improve lives.

“One of the nice things about allergy immunology is if you can identify allergic or immune problems, particularly when children are young, you can really make a difference in their whole life,” she says.

For the past three decades Schneider’s research has focused on atopic dermatitis and food allergies. About 20 years ago she established a multidisciplinary atopic dermatitis center—one of the first in the country.

Although the couple have set down permanent roots in Boston, where they raised their two children—daughter Becky, who is following in her father’s footsteps as a hematology oncology fellow at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute/Brigham Women’s Hospital/Massachusetts General Hospital program, and son Tyler, a professional in the private equity financial services industry—Philadelphia is not far from their hearts.

They are always excited to welcome Sidney Kimmel Medical College graduates to their institutions, and contribute regularly to Jefferson scholarship funds.

“We went there and we’re proud of it,” Zon says. “We value the education we got and want other people to have that great education and clinical training.”

When not practicing in their field, the couple enjoys traveling, music, and dining out—although COVID-19 has curtailed their favorite activities. However, even during a pandemic, Schneider says her husband finds a way to have fun.

He recently rode his bike 100 miles to raise money for cancer research, practices his trumpet every day (he has performed with the Longwood Symphony as principal trumpet for 35 years), and hosted a dance party—for two. In the middle of the pandemic lockdown, he found a list of party music, turned the speakers up, and grabbed his wife for a little rug-cutting.

While he and his wife danced, their son stood by and laughed at them—until Zon cajoled him into playing DJ.

“It was a grand time,” Zon says.