Zakim Center Marks 25 Years as Hub of Integrative Therapy Care and Research

Celebrating 25 Years of the Zakim Center

On October 22, 2025, we were honored to attend the 25^th anniversary of the Leonard P. Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies and Healthy Living at Dana Farber Cancer Institute (Dana- Farber). The event was hosted by Jennifer Ligibel, MD, director of the center and Ting Bao, MD, MS, co-director of the center. Joyce Zakim, Leonard P. Zakim’s widow and Craig Bunnell, MD, MPH, Dana-Farber’s chief medical officer, both spoke at the event. The event welcomed past and current practitioners and leaders, including the first medical director, David Rosenthal, MD, and former executive director Cynthia Medeiros, MSW. Ramel Rones, Zakim’s Tai Chi instructor, who has taught at the center for 25 years, was also present.

Lenny Zakim, while receiving treatment for multiple myeloma in the 1990s, found significant support in complementary therapies such as Tai Chi and Qigong, guided by his instructor Ramel "Rami" Rones. These practices became a cornerstone of his care, supplementing chemotherapy, and radiation. Motivated by his experiences, Zakim advocated for a dedicated center where Dana-Farber patients could enhance their quality of life and manage symptoms through therapies like acupuncture and massage, all coordinated with their oncologists.

The establishment of the center in 2000 was the result of Zakim’s determination. Initially, the center was housed in a modest room off the Dana-Farber main lobby. At the event, faculty, staff, patients, and supporters toured the center and many acknowledged the center’s evolution into a leading facility for clinical services, group programs, and transformative research. The center is now located in a spacious, state-of-the-art setting located on the first floor of Dana-Farber's Dana/Shields Warren building (SW-140). 

A Vision for Patient-Centered Care

During the event, Jennifer Ligibel, MD, reflected on Zakim’s original vision: “Lenny Zakim came to the leadership of Dana-Farber saying, ‘We want a center that’s not focused on finding new chemotherapy agents, but on helping people feel better by incorporating treatments that have been available for millennia to support patients as they go through therapy.’” This forward-thinking approach aligned with Dana-Farber’s longstanding commitment to treating not only the disease but the patient and their family. 

Expanded Services and Virtual Access

Over the decades, the center has broadened its range of services beyond acupuncture, massage, Tai Chi, meditation, and Qigong and now offers exercise classes, strength training, individualized health coaching, dance and movement therapy, and art and music therapy. A list of therapies and class schedules are published on Zakim Center for Integrative Therapies | Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

From Research to Practice

Dana-Farber has been among the pioneers in integrating complementary therapies with conventional oncology care and has led in producing peer-reviewed, evidence-based research demonstrating the effectiveness of these interventions. Today, most cancer centers in the United States include integrative therapies in their care offerings.

Leadership and Growth

The appointment of Ting Bao as co-director in 2023 reflects the center’s ongoing growth. Bao oversees the integrative medicine consults program, creating a clinic that includes an advanced practice coordinator and a clinical pharmacist. 

Craig Bunnell, MD, MPH, Dana-Farber’s chief medical officer, highlighted the impact of the center’s work, stating, “Zakim Center research has proven what patients told us, that integrative therapies actually helped reduce their nausea, their pain, their anxiety, their fatigue, and other symptoms, and improve their quality of life.” This research has propelled integrative medicine into mainstream oncology, fundamentally changing care at Dana-Farber by addressing the whole person—mind, body, and spirit.”

A Healing Partnership

Through these efforts, Dana-Farber has realized Lenny Zakim’s vision. Zakim’s widow, Joyce, and their children joined in celebrating the center’s legacy. Joyce Zakim praised the center’s legacy: “The reach of the center is certainly something I could never have envisioned, because today it serves patients from all over the world in so many ways. Our veteran practitioners created the compassionate atmosphere that is being reinforced by newer professionals.”