Dario C. Altieri: Chief Executive Officer of Wistar Institute |
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Dario C. Altieri, Wistar’s executive vice president, chief scientific officer and Robert and Penny Fox Distinguished Professor, will succeed Russel Kaufman who will step down as president and CEO of Wistar Institute, effective March 2, becoming president emeritus. Dr. Altieri will continue to serve as director of the Wistar Cancer Center.
Dr. Kaufman said, “One of the things I’m proud to say is that I 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.”
Dr. 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 Dr. Helen Pudlin, chair of the Institute’s Board of Trustees. “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.”
An NCI review panel recently recommended renewal of Wistar’s Cancer Center Support Grant with “exceptional” ratings–the highest possible ranking–to both the Cancer Center and Dr. Altieri. The distinction was based on the strength of Wistar’s research programs, as well as his 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 Dr. 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.”
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