The Isaac Ott Professorship of Physiology

Isaac OttThe Professorship was established in 1917 through the bequest of Sally Ann Ott to honor the accomplishments of her late son, Isaac Ott, MD (1847– 1916), a highly regarded teacher, clinician, and author in the field of physiology.

Isaac Ott earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1866 and was a member of the Perelman School of Medicine Class of 1869. He joined the School of Medicine faculty in 1878 as Lecturer in Physiology and became Professor in that Department in 1884. Prominent in the Philadelphia medical community, Dr. Ott was active in numerous national societies and was President of the American Neurological Association. He also authored over 100monographs on diseases of the nervous system.

 

J. Kevin FoskettCurrent Chairholder
J. Kevin Foskett, PhD

J. Kevin Foskett, PhD is Chair of the Department of Physiology and a member of the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology, Mahoney Institute of Neurosciences, Abramson Cancer Center, and the Cell and Molecular Biology and Neuroscience Graduate Groups. His research for over 30 years has focused on mechanisms and regulation of ion transport and signal transduction, with important contributions to mechanisms of fish osmoregulation, cell volume regulation, Ca2+ signaling in epithelial cells, exocrine secretion, the cell biology of cystic fibrosis, mechanisms of taste perception, mitochondrial Ca2+ homeostasis and the molecular physiology of the InsP3R Ca2+ release channel. His laboratory is a leader in the biophysics and cell biology of the InsP3R, and its roles in programmed cell death, genetically inherited forms of Alzheimer’s disease, cellular bioenergetics, and autophagy, with relevance for neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.

Previous Chairholders

  • Robert E. Forster, II, MD 1959–1990
  • Paul J. De Weer, MD, PhD 1990–2007