Congratulations to Tejvir S. Khurana, MD, PhD for winning the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching! This award was established in 1961 with the help of the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation to recognize excellence in teaching. Awards are granted each year for distinguished teaching in health and non-health areas. The receipt of their respective Lindback Awards is a testament to Drs. Ferrari and Khurana's exceptional dedication to education, and their profound influence on students' intellectual and personal growth. Their recognition signifies their outstanding teaching abilities, as well as their enduring commitment to fostering a vibrant and inspiring learning environment within the Penn community.

Congratulations to the Dominguez lab on their seminal study recently published in Science on the structures actin filaments that explains the bases for filament polarity that underlies many cell biological functions.

This milestone reflects the University’s recognition of Paul’s exceptional research achievements and contributions to the academic enterprise. While there was never any doubt that he would be promoted to Associate Professor, it’s nevertheless outstanding to have it under his belt. We’ll be planning a celebration, date TBD. In the meantime, please reach out to Paul to join me in congratulating him on this fabulous achievement.

Natasha Jaiswal (Titchenell lab) officially accepted an offer as a tenure-track Assistant Professor at the College of Health Sciences at Purdue University. She will be starting her new position Jan 2, 2024! Congratulations Natasha!

Congratulations to our own Teji Khurana for being selected for the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching!! This prestigious award is given annually in recognition of commitment to teaching at Penn. The selection committee chose Teji from a highly competitive nomination pool based on his peers' and students' letters written on his behalf. Well-deserved to say the least!! Please join me in applauding Teji on this distinguished award!!

Congratulations Ben Prosser! Ben and a team that he put together to find a cure for his daughter and those who also suffer from disorders due to mutations in STXBP1 and SYNGAP1 genes have received a $25 million gift from an anonymous donor to support their research efforts through their Center for Epilepsy and Neurodevelopmental Disorders (ENDD). Please have a look at the attached press release that will be posted today. We share Ben’s hope that this gift will help lead to breakthroughs on the path to a cure. Please join me in congratulating Ben on this fantastic news!

Congratulations to Yale E. Goldman for his election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Academy members are world leaders in the arts and sciences, business, philanthropy, and public affairs.

Congratulations to the Philadelphia Heart Ball Edward S. Cooper honoree, Dr. Kenneth Margulies of Penn Medicine. Dr. Margulies will be honored for his outstanding achievements in health and wellness in Philadelphia at the Philadelphia Heart Ball, April 7th.

I am pleased to announce that our Joe Baur has been promoted to Full Professor!! Joe has been a remarkable member of our faculty, contributing importantly to all of our missions. His research remains exciting and productive. His engagement with mentees and students has been laudatory. His commitments to our Department, the IDOM and the SOM have been unreserved and widely appreciated. This promotion was never in doubt, but it is excellent news. And a cause for a celebration! that we’ll arrange in the near future. Please all join me in congratulating Joe on this milestone in his career!!

NIGMS Biomedical Beat Blog feature