The Robinette Foundation Professorship of Cardiovascular Medicine

Edward G. Robinette

The Robinette Foundation, in 1928, initially funded the establishment of “a clinic for the study and treatment of organic diseases of the heart, circulatory system, kidneys and other important organs of the body.” In 1979, the Robinette Professorship was designated following the wishes of founder Edward G. Robinette, an honored member of the University of Pennsylvania Class of 1909.

Mr. Robinette, who learned from personal research that cardiovascular disease was exacting “a greater toll of lives and a greater loss of human energy than any other physical ailment,” acted upon his concern and created a vehicle that enabled the study of cardiovascular medicine for “the betterment of human life” for future generations.

 

Edward E. MorriseyCurrent Chairholder
Edward E. Morrisey, PhD

Edward E. Morrisey, PhD is Professor of Medicine and of Cell and Developmental Biology at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Morrisey received his BS degree from the University of Illinois and his PhD from Northwestern University. Dr. Morrisey is the Director of the Penn Center for Pulmonary Biology (PCPB) and the Scientific Director of the Penn Institute for Regenerative Medicine (IRM). His lab has made seminal discoveries in pulmonary and cardiovascular development and regenerative biology and has published more than 120 papers on lung and cardiovascular biology. Dr. Morrisey’s lab focuses on how signaling and transcription factor pathways integrate to promote the expansion and differentiation of tissue-specific progenitors within the lung and heart. The goal of his lab is to understand how the lung and heart respond to injury and whether developmental pathways are altered after injury, and to use this knowledge to promote proper regeneration in these tissues.

Previous Chairholders

  • Mark E. Josephson, MD 1982–1992
  • Garret A. FitzGerald, MD 1994–2004
  • Peter F. Davies, PhD 2005–2015