Newswise — PHILADELPHIA – Katherine L. Nathanson, MD, an internationally recognized expert in the field of cancer genetics, has been named deputy director of the Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania. Nathanson is a professor of Translational Medicine and Human Genetics in the Perelman School of Medicine, and the associate director for Population Sciences in the Abramson Cancer Center, co-leader of the Cancer Control Program, and Chief Oncogenomics Physician. She also serves as director of Genetics for the Basser Center for BRCA. She will begin her new role as deputy director immediately.

“Dr. Nathanson is a distinguished physician-scientist and has long been a valued colleague and member of the cancer center,” said Robert Vonderheide, MD, DPhil, the director of the ACC. “Her clinical and research portfolio incorporates an impressive array of diseases. She has played a critical role in many of the ACC’s most recent advancements and is well known as an international expert in somatic and germline cancer genetics. I am delighted she has accepted this new leadership role.”

As Deputy Director, Nathanson will oversee multiple aspects of the cancer center’s scientific and clinical missions, including strategic planning, program development and evaluation, faculty recruitment, leadership appointments, and resource allocation.

“I’m honored to take on this new leadership role to advance the mission of the Abramson Cancer Center: to reduce the burden of cancer throughout the region, the nation, and the world by extending our integrated program of laboratory, clinical and population-based research,” Nathanson said.

Nathanson received her bachelor’s degree from Haverford College and her MD from the University of Pennsylvania. She completed residencies in Internal Medicine at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, as well as in Clinical genetics at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and at Penn. She joined the Penn faculty in 2001, and since then, she has published more than 250 peer-reviewed articles in top journals, such as Nature, JAMA, Cancer Cell, and The New England Journal of Medicine. She has an extensive record of national service for multiple organizations including the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics, where she serves as the Cancer Genetics editor for Genetics in Medicine, and the American Association for Cancer Research. Nathanson is also the chair of the Cancer Genetics study section for the National Institutes of Health and is an elected member of the American Society of Clinical Investigation and the American Association of Physicians.

###

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 $6.7 billion enterprise.

The Perelman School of Medicine has been ranked among the top five medical schools in the United States for the past 20 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 2016 fiscal year.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System's patient care facilities include: The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center -- which are recognized as one of the nation's top "Honor Roll" hospitals by U.S. News & World Report -- 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 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 2016, Penn Medicine provided $393 million to benefit our community.