Newswise — After an extensive national search, Mark L. Tykocinski, M.D., has been named dean of Jefferson Medical College and senior vice president of Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Dr. Tykocinski will also serve as president of Jefferson University Physicians, the faculty practice plan. The University Board of Trustees' appointment takes effect December 1, 2008. "Dr. Tykocinski is an internationally-renowned physician, researcher and educator whose experience in academics, administration and clinical science make him the ideal person to lead Jefferson Medical College," said Robert L. Barchi, M.D., Ph.D., president of Thomas Jefferson University. "His vision and creativity in the research laboratory have resulted in discoveries that have advanced our understanding of human biology, while his commitment to clinical care has helped to redefine our concept of modern diagnostic medicine."
Brian G. Harrison, chairman, Board of Trustees, Thomas Jefferson University, noted that, "The search committee, led by University trustee Charles G. Kopp, Esq., interviewed a number of outstanding candidates. Dr. Tykocinski's proven leadership abilities and his exceptional academic background were the compelling factors in his selection by the board. I know the entire Jefferson community welcomes the opportunity to work with him to advance the University's academic, clinical and research missions."
As dean of Jefferson Medical College, Dr. Tykocinski has primary responsibility for the quality of the school's medical education. In addition, he will guide the research mission of the college and its nearly 1,000 full-time faculty. Working with many of the country's leading scientists, he will actively implement Jefferson's basic and translational research agenda. The dean also provides the critical leadership and direction necessary to ensure the continued success of the clinical practice plan for faculty. Dr. Tykocinski will work closely with the leadership of Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals to develop outstanding clinical programs that encompass both the outpatient and inpatient setting in providing the highest quality patient-centered care.
For the past ten years, Dr. Tykocinski was professor and chair of the Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. The department " one of the largest at Penn " has more than 130 faculty members and 1,000 total staff. Under his leadership, the department now ranks first in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding among departments of Pathology in the country, and total departmental grant support is almost $50 million annually. Dr. Tykocinski has built a comprehensive clinical services infrastructure at Penn, encompassing clinical laboratory and tissue diagnostics and transfusion medicine. His department also features leading residency and fellowship training programs, considered by many to be among the top in the country.
Dr. Tykocinski holds several research patents in the fields of molecular and cellular immunology. His work has focused on the design of novel fusion proteins with immunotherapeutic potential, as well as unique cellular engineering strategies that invoke these proteins. His findings have contributed to the development of innovative strategies for treating cancer and autoimmune diseases. In his career, he also pioneered a novel class of eukaryotic expression vectors, which are now widely used by other laboratories around the world.
In addition to his research and medical expertise, Dr. Tykocinski brings a wealth of administrative experience to Jefferson. At Penn, Dr. Tykocinski served on both the Executive Committee and Finance Committee of the Board of Directors of the faculty practice plan (the Clinical Practices of the University of Pennsylvania, or CPUP). In addition, he chaired the university's Life Sciences Strategic Planning Committee, which charted a seven-year plan for all life sciences on the Penn campus.
"My leadership roles over the past few years have given me personal experience and perspective on what it takes for an academic medical center to flourish, and I look forward to using this experience to build upon the longstanding tradition of excellence and preeminence enjoyed by Jefferson," said Dr. Tykocinski.
Before coming to Penn, Dr. Tykocinski held prominent university and medical school appointments at Case Western Reserve University (CWRU). He spent a total of 15 years at the university, rising through the ranks to become a tenured professor in the Department of Pathology. Dr. Tykocinski was the director and founder of the Gene Therapy Facility at the CWRU School of Medicine. He also was the director of the CWRU Molecular Biology Core Facility at the university's Skin Research Center. Dr. Tykocinski is a nationally recognized leader in the field of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine. Currently, he is the president of the Association of Pathology Chairs, and is past-president of the American Society for Investigative Pathology. He has been frequently called upon to serve as an external consultant for Pathology departments across the country. Dr. Tykocinski has served on and chaired a major NIH Study Section.
In 1995, Dr. Tykocinski was honored with the Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis Award for Outstanding Research from the American Society for Investigative Pathology. He was honored as an Alpha Omega Alpha Distinguished Alumnus at New York University, and was an honorary inductee to the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, in 2005. He also serves on the editorial board for the American Journal of Pathology and Molecular Oncology.
Dr. Tykocinski earned a bachelor of arts in Biology magna cum laude from Yale University in 1974, and was awarded his medical degree from New York University in 1978. He completed an Internal Medicine internship at Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center in New York City in 1979, and residency training in Anatomic Pathology in the Department of Pathology at New York University in 1981. From 1981-1983, he was a Medical Staff Fellow in the Laboratory of Immunogenetics of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland.
About Jefferson Medical CollegeFounded in 1824, Jefferson Medical College is one of the largest private medical schools with among the largest living alumni group in the nation. It offers both traditional medical education and innovative joint degree programs to its enrollment of over 900 students each year and has awarded more than 29,000 medical degrees. Approximately one fourth of all medical school applicants throughout the country apply to Jefferson. Jefferson Medical College serves as the medical school for the State of Delaware.
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