Donita Brady, the Harrison McCrea Dickson and Clifford C. Baker Presidential Professor in the Perelman School of Medicine and a faculty member of the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, has received the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) Ruth Kirschstein Award for Maximizing Access in Science. 

The award, named for the first woman to be appointed director of an institute at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), honors an outstanding scientist who has shown sustained commitment to breaking down local and/or systemic barriers against scientists and students from historically marginalized or excluded groups.

In the ten years since she joined Penn’s faculty, Dr. Brady has not only successfully run her own research lab, where she leads a team studying what fuels cancer cells as part of the Abramson Cancer Center, but she has also established the Office of Research Trainee Affairs, as well as multiple training programs for all levels, and has spearheaded efforts to make research recruitment more equitable.