University President Amy Gutmann and Interim Provost Vincent Price announced today that Shelley Berger has been appointed as the tenth Penn Integrates Knowledge Professor. Berger will hold appointments in the School of Medicine's Department of Cell and Developmental Biology and the School of Arts and Sciences' Department of Biology.
Known for her research in epigenetics - the study of genetic changes caused by factors other than genes - Berger will draw from both genetics and biochemistry to study critical diseases in her new role as the Daniel S. Och University Professor, a position endowed by Jane and Daniel Och, an '82 Wharton alumnus.
"Her work is intrinsically interdisciplinary, and holds tremendous potential for not only treating devastating diseases such as cancer, but also preventing them entirely," Gutmann said in a statement.
SAS Dean Rebecca Bushnell emphasized that Berger will also be teaching both graduate and undergraduate students.
"This is a great opportunity to take someone world-renowned like Dr. Berger and have her play a role with undergraduates in the School of Arts and Sciences," Bushnell said.
Berger previously taught at the Wistar Institute as the Hilary Koprowski Professor.
"Shelley Berger's tremendously exciting work keeps Penn at the cutting edge of medical discovery," said Price in a statement. "Her research has already proven transformative, and her great reputation as a teacher and advisor is well-known to her future colleagues and students at Penn."
Launched in 2005, the PIK program recruits faculty who, like Berger, are known for working across disciplines.
Under the program, professors, each endowed with $5 million, are given appointments in two schools. So far the initiative has led to the appointments of nine professors prior to Berger. Karen Glanz, the most recent, was appointed last week to the Med School and the School of Nursing jointly.
Bushnell added that since most PIK professors so far have been appointed to work in the social sciences and the natural sciences, she would like to see a future appointment work in the humanities.
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