The John W. Eckman Professorship of Medical Science II

This Professorship was established in 2021, when the value of the endowment of the John W. Eckman Professorship of Medical Science had increased sufficiently to support a second professorship. The original Professorship was established in 1989 through the generosity of Rhône-Poulenc Rorer to honor its retired CEO John W. Eckman, an alumnus of the Wharton School Class of 1943 and a celebrated industrialist committed to the enrichment of Philadelphia’s scientific, cultural, and educational communities. 

John W. Eckman was a leader in the pharmaceutical industry for over 35 years. Believing strongly that “being a good citizen is good business,” Mr. Eckman devoted his efforts and resources to the enhancement of the arts in Philadelphia as well as to the city’s hospitals, schools, youth centers, commerce, and urban improvement coalitions. A member of the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania, Mr. Eckman received the Alumni Award of Merit in 1972 and was awarded an Honorary Degree from the University in 1984. He was the recipient of the Louis Braille Award, the Philadelphia Caring Award, and the Industrialist of the Year Award. 

Current Chairholder

Nancy A. Speck, PhD

Nancy A. Speck, PhD, is an Investigator at the Abramson Family Cancer Research Institute, Member of the Abramson Cancer Center and Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Co-Leader of the Hematologic Malignancies Program at the Abramson Cancer Center, and Chair of the Perelman School of Medicine Department of Cell and Developmental Biology.

Dr. Speck’s Lab is centered on the core binding factor (RUNX1-CBFβ) and its roles in hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) formation and function. They study how HSCs form in the embryo, the step at which HSC formation is dependent on Runx1-CBFβ, and how mutations in the genes encoding Runx1-CBFβ generate pre-leukemic stem cells. A more recent line of investigation is to determine how RUNX1 restrains innate immune signaling.

During Dr. Speck’s tenure as Chair of the Department of Cell and Developmental Biology (CDB), Penn has experienced remarkable enthusiasm and momentum in the cell and developmental biology space – across the University and nationally. The Department’s 22 standing faculty members are widely recognized as leaders in their fields, which span cell biology, developmental biology, epigenetics, cancer biology, neurobiology, stem cells and regeneration, and cell signaling. Their scientific impact is reflected in an expanding sponsored research portfolio, an impressive number of high-impact publications, and significant presence of elected members in prestigious societies like the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).