Photograph by Nick Kelsh
Drs. Katherine (Kate) Nathanson and Andrew Ochroch’s meet cute is likely familiar to many of those who grew up and attended school in the Philadelphia area, as they did. By the time they went on their first date during medical school at Penn, they had already crossed paths as undergraduates, he at Swarthmore College and she at Haverford College.
“We were told by several friends in medical school that we were perfect for one another, because we were both tall, and had the same watch and senses of humor,” Kate recalled. “They kept asking me if I knew him, and I said no. But about 10 minutes into meeting him again, I realized that he was that guy from college I thought was cute.”
After a set-up and walk around the Barnes Foundation, Andrew threw a dinner party, ostensibly as a casual gathering of friends—but in reality, as a ruse to see Kate again. They hit it off. The day after Valentine’s Day, they went on their first official date—and have been together ever since.
"I knew I was going to marry her pretty quickly,” Andrew shared.
A few years ahead of Kate, Andrew completed his internship at Abington Hospital while she finished medical school. They both ended up matching at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston and got married during their training. They had their first daughter, Leah, during Kate’s residency, and would later have another daughter, Claire.
“We knew early on that Kate wanted to pursue academic research. I was more than happy to practice clinical anesthesia, and luckily received a Career Development (K) Award so that I could follow Kate where ever she went,” Andrew explained.
Andrew learned valuable lessons in marital support from his parents. He grew up seeing how much his father, a senior partner at Fox Rothschild who attended Swarthmore College and Penn Law, valued, acknowledged, and appreciated his mother. A Radcliffe graduate and stay-at-home mom, her incredible cooking and entertaining acumen were crucial to her husband’s successful law career.
After returning to Philadelphia for Kate’s second residency in genetics at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Andrew’s K Award afforded him a schedule flexible enough to take on the lion’s share of childcare while simultaneously becoming a highly sought-after anesthesiologist at HUP. To this day, he still handles the majority of the cooking, food shopping, and household responsibilities. By coming home to Philadelphia, they also had extra support in the form of helpful grandparents who all pitched in to help the young, working parents.
With this tremendous network of support—and hard work—Kate has risen to a position of prominence as an internationally recognized expert in the field of cancer genetics. She is the deputy director of Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center, overseeing multiple aspects of the ACC’s scientific and clinical missions. She also serves as director of Genetics for the Basser Center for BRCA, among other leadership positions at Penn Medicine.
Kate is also a part of a rich Penn tradition. Her father, Neal Nathanson, MD, chaired Penn’s department of microbiology for 15 years, and served as both Vice Dean for Research and Research Training and Vice Provost for Research. But, most significantly, Kate is following the path of the two incredibly strong women in her life: her late stepmother, Phoebe Starfield Leboy, PhD, a Penn trailblazer who was the only tenured woman at Penn Dental for over 20 years, also served as the chair of the department; and her mother, Constance Nathanson, PhD, a professor in the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia.
And this tradition continues with their youngest daughter Claire, an incoming Penn freshman ’22, who when applying, wrote about her atypical role models: grandmothers, a mother in academics, and a father who cooks. (Their eldest daughter, Leah, is about to graduate from the University of Chicago.) Claire is excited to start her own Penn experience, from exploring her interest in STEM policy to hoping to score a coveted dorm room on the Quad. Beyond being thrilled at their daughter keeping the Penn family legacy strong, more than anything, Kate and Andrew want for their children what all parents want: for them to find happiness by making their own choices.
It hasn’t always been easy juggling career and family, but Kate and Andrew do their best to create a balance that works for them—even if that means not having family dinner until 8:30 at night when their girls were swimming. “The work-life balance is a myth that sets you up for failure. It is more important to decide what is right for you as a couple and a family,” shares Kate.
So what is the key to their happiness? Is it simply a shared sense of humor and value systems? Maybe a common love of medicine, trying out new recipes, exploring new restaurants, and planning trips and gatherings with friends? Andrew jokes that the key to a healthy marriage is following the advice laid out in the New York Time’s Modern Love article, “What Shamu Taught Me about A Happy Marriage.” Kate, however, thinks it is much simpler than that: “We really just enjoy spending time together, and do not take each other for granted."
And Andrew agrees: “Every day we tell each other ‘I love you.’ We try to make the positive interactions far more common than the negative interactions," he said. "Plus, I buy great jewelry.”
Kate jokes, “It helps to have a partner with a shared passion for science and medicine who understands how important it is do what you love.”
The Abramson Cancer Center and Penn Medicine are thrilled to have such incredible people represent our institution through their work, within their own family, and in the community.