Philip A. Rea, professor of biology and the Rebecka and Arie Belldegrun Distinguished Director of the Roy and Diana Vagelos Program in Life Sciences & Management (LSM), was awarded a higher doctorate, Doctor of Science (DSc), by his alma mater, the University of Oxford, in July.

The doctor of science, one of five higher doctorates that the University of Oxford awards each year, was granted to Dr. Rea in honor and celebration of his long and productive career as a biochemist and his dedication and devotion to teaching, science-communication, and mentorship. Dr. Rea’s research career focused primarily on membrane biology and heavy metal detoxification, and he has now transitioned to focus primarily on pedagogy and science education. In 2006, he was named an inaugural co-director of the LSM program at Penn, an undergraduate dual-degree program administered jointly between Penn’s College of Arts & Sciences and the Wharton School. In 2018, Dr. Rea published a book with Mark Pauly and Lawton Burns, Managing Discovery in the Life Sciences: Harnessing Creativity to Drive Biomedical Innovation, which explores the science and management behind marketable biomedical breakthroughs.