PHILADELPHIA - President Amy Guttmann, PhD, and Provost Vincent Price, PhD announced today the appointment of Donita Brady, PhD, as the seventh Presidential Professor, effective July 1, 2015. Brady will be Presidential Assistant Professor of Cancer Biology in the Perelman School of Medicine.
“Rarely does a young scientist come along who is as impressive, as accomplished, and as innovative as Donita Brady,” Penn President Amy Gutmann said. “Her discoveries have already opened new doors in cancer research, and we are proud to welcome her to our Department of Cancer Biology. On the 250th anniversary of Penn Medicine, it is auspicious timing indeed that this pioneering researcher joins one of the world’s most revolutionary medical schools.”
Brady’s groundbreaking research looks at the links between cancer and copper, with enormous potential for the development of future cancer treatments. She and a team of Duke researchers discovered that reducing the body’s supply of copper also blocks the growth of certain kinds of cancers – specifically, cancers with a mutation in the BRAF gene that require copper for the growth of cells and tumors.
This class of cancers includes melanoma, one of the most common and deadly forms of skin cancer, as well as colon, lung, and thyroid cancers. Brady’s research has significant clinical implications, including the use of existing drugs for Wilson’s disease, a rare genetic disorder in which the body accumulates too much copper.
“Donita Brady embodies our highest aspirations for the distinction of the Penn faculty,” said Provost Price. “We look forward to her dynamic contributions to advancing research discoveries and interdisciplinary inquiry across campus.”
Brady is currently a senior research associate in the Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology at the Duke University School of Medicine, following a five-year postdoctoral fellowship. She earned a PhD in Pharmacology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a BS in Chemistry from Radford University.
“Dr. Brady’s exceptional work so early in her career makes clear that she is poised to advance the boundaries of our knowledge of cancer – and our ability to treat it,” said J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, dean of the Perelman School of Medicine and executive vice president of the University for the Health System. “We welcome her and are excited to watch her discover new pathways.”
Presidential Professorships, supported in part by a $2 million grant from The Pew Charitable Trusts and originating in the Action Plan for Faculty Diversity and Excellence first issued in 2011, are awarded to exceptional scholars, at any rank, who contribute to faculty eminence through diversity across the University.
For more information, please see the news release.
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