Andrew M. Hoffman, the Gilbert S. Kahn Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania (Penn Vet) has named Igor Brodsky, an internationally recognized microbiologist, the inaugural Robert R. Marshak Professor.

Dr. Brodsky holds an extraordinary record of scholarly accomplishments. His research program focuses on the interplay of bacterial virulence mechanisms and host innate immune recognition strategies, including how bacterial pathogens are sensed by host cells, how this sensing contributes to antimicrobial immune defense, and how bacterial pathogens evade innate immune recognition. 

Dr. Brodsky is a member of several graduate groups and interdisciplinary research groups at Penn, including the immunology graduate group, cell and molecular biology graduate group, Institute for Immunology, and the Penn Center for Genome Integrity. 

He has received continuous National Institutes of Health (NIH) support and is currently principal investigator (PI) on two R01 grants and one R21 grant, and mentor or co-PI on several other grants from the NIH, the National Science Foundation, and the American Heart Association. He has mentored more than 20 students and fellows from across the United States and the world.

“Dr. Brodsky’s scientific work has appeared in over 70 peer reviewed publications, literature reviews, and invited commentaries in high-impact journals,” said Dean Hoffman. “His outstanding achievements have garnered him numerous awards, including the highly competitive Burroughs Wellcome Fund Investigator in the Pathogenesis of Infectious Disease Award. Dr. Brodsky has published in journals such as Nature; Immunity, Infection and Immunity; Journal of Immunology; PLoS Pathogen; Journal of Experimental Medicine; PNAS; and Cell. He is highly sought after by editorial boards and grant review panels, and as a presenter to invited and named scientific lectures.”

Dr. Brodsky received his AB from Princeton University in molecular biology and his PhD from Stanford University in microbiology and immunology. Following postdoctoral fellowships at Stanford University and Yale University, Dr. Brodsky joined Penn Vet’s faculty as an assistant professor of pathobiology in 2011. Six years later, in 2017, he was promoted to associate professor with a secondary appointment as an associate professor of microbiology in the Perelman School of Medicine.

Dr. Brodsky was appointed chair of the department of pathobiology in 2021 (Almanac September 7, 2021). He provides extensive service to the science community as a member of the editorial boards for PLoS Pathogens and Infection and Immunity, and as a member of NIH study section panels.

“The late Dean Emeritus Robert R. Marshak, DVM, DACVIM, established the National Cancer Institute-sponsored Bovine Leukemia Research Center, and conceived of the Animal Health and Diagnostic Commission and tripartite Pennsylvania Diagnostic Laboratory system in the wake of a major outbreak of avian influenza in the 1980s,” said Dean Hoffman (Almanac November 3, 2020). “It is most fitting that Dr. Brodsky, a leader and eminent scholar in the field of infectious diseases, should be honored as the inaugural Robert R. Marshak Professorship. He is a born educator and a devoted mentor who embraces the whole mission of Penn Vet.”

The awarding of a named, endowed professorship is the highest honor bestowed upon a faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania and reflects a commitment to scientific discovery, mentorship, and service.