(Philadelphia,
PA) - Andrew I. Schafer, MD, has been appointed
Professor and Chairman of the Department of Medicine
at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine,
effective September 3, 2002. Dr. Schafer currently serves
as Chair of the Department of Medicine at Baylor College
of Medicine, in Houston, Texas.
"Following a nationwide search, I am delighted
to announce the appointment of Dr. Schafer as Chair
of the Department of Medicine and the Frank Wister Thomas
Professor of Medicine," said Dr. Arthur H. Rubenstein,
Executive Vice President of the University of Pennsylvania
for the Health System and Dean of the School of Medicine.
"Dr. Schafer is exceptionally well qualified to
assume this important leadership role within PENN Medicine.
His demonstrated accomplishments in all areas of academic
medicine will be of great value to us and will further
strengthen an already highly accomplished department."
As Chair, Dr. Schafer will have administrative responsibility
for the School of Medicine's largest and most complex
department - which includes 13 clinical divisions and
500 faculty. "I am eager to help build on the significant
gains PENN Medicine has made in the past, and help forecast
and meet the challenges of the future," said Dr.
Schafer. "I look forward to joining Penn, a world-class
institution known for its quality patient care, cutting-edge
biomedical research, and stellar training of the next
generation of physician-scientists."
Dr. Schafer's clinical and research areas of expertise
are in hematology, thrombosis, hemostasis, coagulation,
platelet function, and vascular cell biology. He is
the author of more than 180 original articles in the
field and has edited or co-edited five textbooks. He
is currently principal investigator of two National
Institutes of Health (NIH) research grants in the area
of platelet and vascular cell biology.
At Penn, one of Dr. Schafer's priorities will be to
further integrate researchers with clinicians in order
to build meaningful collaborative relationships. "A
current challenge of academic medicine is to reacquaint
practicing physicians with the value of partnering with
like-minded scientists in the pursuit of knowledge that
will have a positive impact on patient care," explained
Dr. Schafer. "To that end, it will be necessary
to create and maintain an environment that stimulates
a smooth and seamless integration of clinicians with
researchers."
As an educator, Dr. Schafer believes that students,
residents, and fellows should be introduced to the practical
applications of theoretical principles, especially in
the areas of medical ethics, healthcare policy, and
humanism. "To create the next generation of leaders
in medicine, our educational experience must involve
students in current and future financial, ethical, and
culture-of-care challenges faced by physicians and their
patients," he said.
This appointment welcomes Dr. Schafer back to Penn's
School of Medicine, from which he graduated in 1973.
Following his residency training at the University of
Chicago Hospitals and Clinics, Schafer completed clinical
and research fellowships at Harvard Medical School-affiliate
Peter Bent Brigham Hospital (now known as Brigham &
Women's Hospital). In 1981, he joined the faculty of
Harvard Medical School as Assistant Professor of Medicine
and was promoted to Associate Professor in 1987. From
1984 to 1989, he was Chief of Hematology and Oncology
at both West Roxbury and Brockton Veterans Administration
Hospitals, in Boston and Brockton, MA, respectively.
Dr. Schafer began his tenure at Baylor in 1989 while
simultaneously becoming Adjunct Professor of Biomedical
Engineering at Rice University (an appointment he still
holds). At Baylor School of Medicine, he has served
as Associate Dean of the School of Medicine, and is
an ongoing member of the Faculty and Promotions Committee.
Since 1998, Dr. Schafer has been Chairman of the Department
of Medicine at Baylor, and Chief of the Internal Medicine
Service at The Methodist Hospital, in Houston.
Dr. Schafer holds leadership positions and memberships
in many prestigious professional groups and societies.
Currently, he serves on the Board of Extramural Advisors
of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute of the
NIH; the Science Advisory and Coordinating Committee
of the American Heart Association (AHA); and the International
Advisory Board of the International Society on Thrombosis
and Haemostasis. Dr. Schafer is a fellow in the American
Heart Association's Council on Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis
and Vascular Biology; and is Treasurer and a member
of the Executive Committee of the American Society of
Hematology. He is a long-standing member of the American
Society of Clinical Investigation, the Association of
American Physicians, and the Association of Professors
of Medicine. Dr. Schafer earned Harvard University's
Milton Fund Research Award and was Established Investigator
of the American Heart Association for his work in platelet
and vascular cell biology.
Dr. Schafer is on the editorial boards of several scientific
journals, including Platelets, Circulation,
Journal of Cardiovascular Risk, American Journal
of Medicine, Current Medicinal Chemistry,
and American Journal of Medical Sciences. He
has served on the Research Study Sections of the National
Institutes of Health and theVeterans Administration.
Dr. Schafer will relocate to the Philadelphia region,
where he will be joined by his wife, Pauline, an educator.
The Schafers have three children: Kate, Pamela and Eric.
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Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.
The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.
Penn Medicine is an $11.1 billion enterprise powered by more than 49,000 talented faculty and staff.