PHILADELPHIA — Benjamin Garcia has been named the first Presidential Term Professor at the University of Pennsylvania, effective June 1. The announcement was made by Penn President Amy Gutmann and Provost Vincent Price.
Garcia will be Presidential Associate Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics in Penn’s Perelman School of Medicine.
“I am delighted that Ben Garcia is joining us as Penn’s first Presidential Professor,” Gutmann said. “He is a brilliant young scholar and researcher whose pioneering work in cell biology and proteomics has placed him at the forefront of his field, earning him numerous awards, including a Presidential Early Career Award, the highest honor bestowed by the federal government on young scientists and engineers. Ben is the consummate interdisciplinary scholar, and he will add further distinction to our eminent faculty.”
Garcia is currently assistant professor of molecular biology at Princeton University, where he has taught since 2008, following three years as an NIH-NRSA Postdoctoral Fellow at the Institute for Genomic Biology of the University of Illinois. His pioneering research involves developing new mass spectrometry methods and bioinformatic computational tools to examine critical modifications in cellular proteins that alter and control their functions.
In addition to the Presidential Early Career Award, Garcia has received more than a dozen major awards, including a National Science Foundation Early Career Award, a National Institutes of Health Director's New Innovator Award and an Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellowship.
“Ben Garcia is one of the most important and exciting young researchers in cell biology,” Price said. “His innovative work impacts a wide range of areas, from medicine to chemistry to bioengineering. I am certain that his devotion to both teaching and integrating knowledge will be great assets to the Penn community in the years ahead.”
Presidential Term Professorships, supported in part by a $2 million grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts, are awarded to exceptional scholars, of any rank, who contribute to faculty eminence through diversity across the University.
“Ben Garcia brings extensive proteomics expertise to Penn, and he is joining an environment dedicated to linking scientific discoveries to new diagnostics and treatments,” said J. Larry Jameson, executive vice president for the health system and dean of the Perelman School of Medicine. “I am confident that Ben will partner with collaborators throughout the University to make a major impact, particularly on the study of the molecular pathways that underpin cancer.”
Garcia earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the University of Virginia and a B.S. in chemistry in 2000 from the University of California, Davis.
###
Penn Medicine is one of the world's leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and excellence in patient care. Penn Medicine consists of the Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System, which together form a $4.3 billion enterprise.
The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 17 years, according to U.S. News & World Report's survey of research-oriented medical schools. The School is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $392 million awarded in the 2013 fiscal year.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania -- recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; Chester County Hospital; Lancaster General Health; Penn Wissahickon Hospice; and Pennsylvania Hospital -- the nation's first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional affiliated inpatient care facilities and services throughout the Philadelphia region include Chestnut Hill Hospital and Good Shepherd Penn Partners, a partnership between Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network and Penn Medicine.
Penn Medicine is committed to improving lives and health through a variety of community-based programs and activities. In fiscal year 2013, Penn Medicine provided $814 million to benefit our community.
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.