The Marietta and Howard Stoeckel Professorship
The Marietta and Howard Stoeckel Professor was established in 2022 through the generosity of Marietta and Howard Stoeckel. The Stoeckel’s philanthropy recognizes and honors a faculty member in the field of prostate cancer research, patient care, and education at Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center.
Marietta Stoeckel spent over thirty years in the medical field. She was employed by St. Mary’s Hospital located in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, until her retirement as a Medical Technologist. Marietta was licensed by the American Society of Clinical Pathologists (ASCP) and was a member of the National Environmental Health Association. Since Marietta’s retirement, she has earned certificates in Interior Design and Floral Design from Temple University.
Howard Stoeckel has been associated with Wawa, Inc. for 35 years. He serves on Wawa’s Board of Directors and previously served as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Vice President of Human Resources, President, and CEO from 2005 to 2013; and Vice Chairperson of the Wawa Board of Directors from 2013 to 2023. Howard has served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Rider University, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Riddle Memorial Hospital, member of the Board of Trustees of Mainline Health and member of the Board of Directors for AmeriGas Propane.
Current Chairholder: Justin E. Bekelman, MD
Dr. Bekelman is the founding director of the Penn Center for Cancer Care Innovation (PC3I), which works at the nexus of research and practice to create, test, and scale solutions to improve health, health care, and health equity for patients with cancer; enhance the patient and clinician experience; and increase care efficiency and value.
Dr. Bekelman specializes in early detection, surveillance, and treatment of prostate cancer. He also has expertise in the treatment of testicular and bladder cancer. He leads research programs to improve the length and quality of life for patients with cancer. He also focuses on health care delivery, payment reform, and cancer care transformation, integrating methods from the fields of innovation, epidemiology, clinical trials, behavioral and health economics, and public policy.
His research has appeared in high-impact scientific journals and has been featured by national and international media outlets. He has served as an advisor to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services on cancer care payment reform and innovation. Dr. Bekelman is an elected member of the American Society for Clinical Investigation.
Dr. Bekelman completed his undergraduate studies at Princeton University and his medical training at Yale University, Johns Hopkins, and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Previously, he was a management consultant at the Kalchas Group, advising senior executives of health care and insurance clients on corporate strategy. Dr. Bekelman also served as Special Assistant to the Under Secretary of Defense.