Russel E. Kaufman, M.D.

President and CEO
215-898-3926, Phone
215-573-2097, Fax

Russel E. Kaufman, M.D. is President and CEO of The Wistar Institute, an independent, non-profit biomedical research center in Philadelphia. He is also Director of The Wistar Institute Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center. In addition to his administrative leadership of Wistar, Kaufman maintains an active research program at the Institute, investigating the genetics of blood diseases and cancer. During Kaufman’s tenure at Wistar, he has significantly raised the international profile of the Institute by recruiting top-notch scientists, developing new biomedical research centers and expanding scientific programs and facilities.

Kaufman has been a pace-setter for the growing life sciences industry in the greater Philadelphia region, serving on the board of directors for the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce; Select Greater Philadelphia’s  CEO Council for Growth; the Greater Philadelphia Life Sciences Congress; the Council for American Medical Innovation; the University City Science Center; BioAdvance – Biotechnology Greenhouse Corporation of Southeastern Pennsylvania; Neuland Laboratories in Hyderabad, India; on the advisory board for Osage Venture Partners; and on the scientific advisory board for Pappas Ventures. He is also a member of WHYY’s Health and Science Desk advisory committee.

With long-standing interests in both basic and applied cancer research, Kaufman has held leadership positions in national academic organizations in internal medicine and on committees within the National Institutes of Health, the National Academy of Sciences and the American Association of Medical Colleges. A fellow of the College of Physicians, he has received honors and awards for his work from the March of Dimes, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America, the Arthritis Foundation and others. The American Cancer Society awarded Kaufman with the 2008 Southeast Region Cancer Control Award, in recognition of his exemplary individual achievements in the field of cancer control. Kaufman was also named one of the first Searle Scholars, a prestigious program that supports top-flight academic research in biomedicine and chemistry. In 2009, the Ohio State University Alumni Association awarded Kaufman a Professional Achievement Award.

Kaufman earned a bachelor’s degree in zoology and biochemistry from the Ohio State University, and earned his medical degree from the Ohio State University College of Medicine. He completed his medical residence at the Duke University Medical Center, beginning a long affiliation with Duke, as a clinician, researcher, and administrator.