Newswise — PHILADELPHIA–(Dec. 18, 2014)–The Wistar Institute, an international leader in biomedical research, announced today that Russel E. Kaufman, M.D., FACP, FCPP, will step down as president and CEO, effective March 2, 2015, becoming president emeritus. Dario C. Altieri, M.D., Wistar’s executive vice president, chief scientific officer and Robert and Penny Fox Distinguished Professor will succeed Kaufman as CEO. Altieri will also continue to serve as director of the Wistar Cancer Center.
Kaufman, 68, joined Wistar in 2002 from Duke University School of Medicine where he was vice dean for Education and Academic Affairs as well as chancellor for Academic Affairs for the Duke University Health System. During his tenure at Wistar, Kaufman has grown its scientific enterprise, significantly raising its international profile by recruiting top-notch scientists, developing new biomedical research programs and facilities, and fostering collaborations with regional academic institutions and life sciences industry partners.
Kaufman has guided the Institute through its ongoing $35 million capital campaign, begun in 2010, which supported Wistar’s first major building project since 1976. Wistar’s Robert and Penny Fox Tower, a $100 million, 89,700 square-foot research facility, which opened in Sept. 2014, will further secure the Institute’s future at the forefront of cancer and immunology research and vaccine development. In Kaufman’s nearly 13 years at Wistar, the Institute has raised close to $80 million, and its endowments and reserves have risen substantially.
“The name of our capital campaign is Building Wistar, Changing the World, and that sums up what Russ has been able to accomplish at Wistar,” said Helen P. Pudlin, chair of the Institute’s Board of Trustees. “Russ is a man of many talents and he’s used them to set the modern course for Wistar, which we believe truly will be world-changing. Drawing on his skills as a physician, researcher, and administrator, and inspired by his extraordinary vision and passion, Russ has effectively positioned Wistar for an exciting trajectory of growth and success. He has built a great legacy. ”
In addition to his administrative leadership, Kaufman has been a pacesetter for the Greater Philadelphia region’s burgeoning life sciences industry, and has maintained an active research program, investigating the genetics of blood diseases and cancer. The Philadelphia Business Journal named Kaufman Life Sciences CEO of the Year, in recognition of his lifelong determination to bring scientific discovery to benefit humankind by engaging with life sciences partners along with academia, industry, and government. He will continue to serve on several boards and also plans to pursue his next passion: focusing on defining the role and impact of the rapidly evolving field of cancer genetics on medicine as well as promoting commercialization of academic discoveries.
“This has been one of the greatest jobs you could have,” said Kaufman. “I’ve achieved everything I set out to do here when I joined this organization, and I am confident that Wistar is well positioned to achieve its mission. We have some of the most creative scientists enabled by state-of-the-art facilities.”
Added Kaufman, “One of the things I’m proud to say is that l leave Wistar in the hands of a true visionary and outstanding leader. Dario is an exceptional choice to guide the future of Wistar. He has the strategic vision to see where the Institute needs to go and the energy to make it happen.”
Altieri joined Wistar in 2010 as director of Wistar’s National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center, and as Wistar’s first chief scientific officer. Since then, he has galvanized Wistar’s strength in cancer research, recruiting world-class investigators and charting a new path for translational medicine that will accelerate the progress from basic research to clinical trials with partners in industry and medicine. His own research efforts currently focus on advancing a drug developed in his laboratory toward clinical testing in patients with advanced prostate cancer.
“We are thrilled to be able to pass the mantle of leadership from Russ to Dario, a scientific leader who knows the institution intimately and is already a critical force behind our reputation today,” said Pudlin. “In Dario, we have found not only someone who can hit the ground running, we have someone who is already on the ground running. We won’t miss a beat in our transition, and that means Wistar science won’t lose any momentum.”
Earlier this year, an NCI review panel recommended renewal of Wistar’s Cancer Center Support Grant with “Exceptional” ratings–the highest possible ranking–to both the Cancer Center and Altieri. The distinction was based on the strength of Wistar’s research programs, as well as Altieri’s leadership.
“Russ has paved the way for Wistar to become a ‘destination institution,’ where the best and brightest researchers come to conduct the high-risk high reward science that Wistar is known for,” said Altieri, who previously was professor and chair of the Department of Cancer Biology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. “We have the tools, we have the talent, and we have the model we need to conduct groundbreaking biomedical research that ultimately leads to new, more affordable treatments for cancer and other diseases worldwide.”
The Wistar Institute is an international leader in biomedical research with special expertise in cancer research and vaccine development. Founded in 1892 as the first independent nonprofit biomedical research institute in the country, Wistar has long held the prestigious Cancer Center designation from the National Cancer Institute. The Institute works actively to ensure that research advances move from the laboratory to the clinic as quickly as possible. The Wistar Institute: Today’s Discoveries – Tomorrow’s Cures. On the Web at www.wistar.org.
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