The David J. Mahoney Professorship of Neurological Sciences

David J. MahoneyThe Professorship was established in 1984 through the generosity of 1947 Wharton alumnus David J. Mahoney (1923–2000), an international leader in the business community, a devoted activist for the advancement of neuroscience, and a committed supporter of the University of Pennsylvania.

Mr. Mahoney created his own advertising agency at age 28, became President of Good Humor Company at 33 and later was named Executive Vice President at Colgate-Palmolive, President of Canada Dry, and CEO of Norton Simon. Commitment to promoting research in the neurosciences occupied Mr. Mahoney after his retirement in 1983 and led to the establishment of the Mahoney Institute of Neurological Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania and the Harvard Mahoney Neuroscience Institute. (The Penn Institution was renamed the Mahoney Institute for Neurosciences in 1985.) As Chairman of the Board of the Charles A. Dana Foundation, over the years Mr. Mahoney provided significant support to research and education in the neurosciences.

 

hongjun song phdCurrent Chairholder
Hongjun Song, PhD

Hongjun Song, PhD, is the Perelman Professor of Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine. As a pioneer in the field of neuroepigenetics, Dr. Song’s lab developed a “single-cell genetic” approach using retroviruses to manipulate target genes. This resulted in the identification of neural stem cells in the adult brain that are capable of both self-renewal and giving rise to multiple cell types. Dr. Song’s laboratory currently aims to understand novel mechanisms regulating structural and functional plasticity in the mammalian brain. His group focuses on mammalian neural stem cells and neurogenesis, and epigenetic mechanisms in the mammalian nervous system. His work showed that DNA methylation— a process that changes the function of genes without changing genetic code—is a robust form of plasticity in the adult nervous system rather than a stable epigenetic tag in mature neurons.

After completing his bachelor’s at Peking University, P.R. China, Dr. Song earned his PhD from UC San Diego while studying neural growth and plasticity. He also held a postdoctoral position at the Salk Institute for Biological Science. Before joining the University of Pennsylvania in 2017, Dr. Song served as a Full Professor at the Institute for Cell Engineering, the Department of Neurology, and the Department of Neuroscience at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Dr. Song has mentored over 80 graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and clinical fellows, and many undergraduate students. He has received numerous honors and awards including the Young Investigator Award from the Society for Neuroscience in 2008 and The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences Director’s Award in 2017.

Previous Chairholders

  • Robert L. Barchi, MD, PhD 1985–1999
  • Irwin B. Levitan, PhD 1999–2009
  • Jon A. Dani, PhD 2013-2025