The University announced yesterday the appointment of stem cell expert John Gearhart as the eighth Penn Integrates Knowledge professor and director of the Institute of Regenerative Medicine.
Gearhart is the James Effron University Professor, and he will join the faculty of both the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology in the School of Medicine and the Department of Animal Biology in the School of Veterinary Medicine.
The PIK program, started in 2005, is an initiative to recruit faculty members who specialize in interdisciplinary research and hold joint appointments between two of Penn's schools.
Vice Provost for Research Steve Fluharty cited Gearhart's experience with stem cell research as a reason for enthusiasm about his appointment.
"We're very excited that we were able to recruit John Gearhart from Johns Hopkins to Penn," he said. "He's really been on the forefront of both the research in this area and also the public discussions of its therapeutic potential."
In 1998, Gearhart led a team of researchers that first identified human embryonic stem cells and has since been a major advocate for federal funding of stem cell research.
Gearhart received a bachelor's degree from Penn State University, a master's degree in plant genetics from the University of New Hampshire and doctorate in genetics from Cornell University. He taught at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine from 1980 to 2008.
The James Effron University Professorship is the gift of '81 Wharton alumnus and Committee on Undergraduate Financial Aid member Craig Effron, named in honor of his father.
