Mitchell J. Blutt and Margo Krody Blutt Assistant Presidential Professor of Medical Ethics & Health Policy II
This Professorship is one of three endowed by the Blutts at Penn – one at each School where Dr. Blutt earned a degree: Penn Arts and Sciences, Wharton, and the Perelman School of Medicine. Dr. Blutt is the CEO of Consonance Capital, a health care focused investment firm that he founded in 2005. Margo Krody Blutt is a former dancer at the New York City Ballet.
Dr. Blutt is the former Executive Partner of J.P. Morgan Partners (JPMP). He is also Clinical Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Department of Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, where he holds numerous advisory positions. Among his many roles in the world of business and medicine, he has served on the board of the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. He is currently on the Board of Directors of the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that supports independent research on health and social issues and makes grants to improve health care practice and policy. He is also a board member of PMC (Psychiatric Medical Care), the leading operator of inpatient and outpatient behavioral health programs in rural communities.
At Penn, Dr. Blutt has contributed his leadership skills on the Board of Trustees of Penn Medicine and the Board of Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania. Currently, he serves on the Board of Advisors of the School of Arts and Sciences, the Board of Advisors of the Wharton School and the External Advisory Board of the Penn brainSTIM Center. He chairs the External Advisory Board of CHIBE (Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics). Dr. Blutt is a recipient of the Alumni Award of Merit, the University of Pennsylvania’s highest alumni honor.
In addition to endowing three presidential professorships, the Blutts have generously supported scholarships, graduate fellowships, and internships at Penn Arts and Sciences, the Perelman School of Medicine, and Wharton. The Blutts have also contributed to making music, an interest Mitchell Blutt came to after his Penn studies, more widely available to Penn students. The Blutt Singer Songwriter Symposium has brought artists such as Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Questlove, and Japanese Breakfast to campus.
Presidential Professorships are awarded to exceptional scholars of any rank who will contribute to the diverse experiences, perspectives, and eminence of Penn faculty. They were established in 2011 to strengthen the University’s ability to recruit, retain and mentor distinguished scholars who are preeminent in their fields and have demonstrated a commitment to sustaining an inclusive and vibrant academic community.
Current Chairholder
Christina A. Roberto, PhD
Christina A. Roberto, PhD is the Mitchell J. Blutt and Margo Krody Blutt Assistant Presidential Professor of Medical Ethics & Health Policy at the Perelman School of Medicine of the University of Pennsylvania, appointed in 2019. A clinical psychologist and epidemiologist, she serves as the Director of the Psychology of Eating And Consumer Health (PEACH) Lab and Associate Director of the Center for Health Incentives & Behavioral Economics. Dr. Roberto earned a joint PhD at Yale University in clinical psychology and chronic disease epidemiology. She completed her clinical internship at the Yale School of Medicine and was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Society Scholar at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. She received her BA in psychology from Princeton University.
Dr. Roberto’s research aims to identify and evaluate policies and interventions that promote healthy eating habits and prevent nutrition-related chronic diseases. In her work, she strives to help create a just and equitable food system where those with the fewest resources and opportunities have the same chance to live a long, healthy life as those with the most. The PEACH Lab has informed government food policies, including sugar-sweetened beverage taxes and food labeling. In October 2021, she was appointed to the Emerging Leaders in Health and Medicine Program to collaborate with her colleagues across fields of expertise to advance science, combat persistent challenges in health and medicine, and spark transformative change to improve health for all.