Clayton A. Buck, Ph.D.

Professor Emeritus

Professor Clayton A. Buck, Ph.D., served as The Wistar Institute's acting director and CEO from September 2000 to June 2002. During that time, the Institute's per-investigator levels of federal funding grew substantially, significant new efforts were initiated in the areas of functional genomics, proteomics, and bioinformatics, and Wistar's visibility at the state level with legislators and the governor's office increased markedly. He was then vice president for academic affairs from 2002 until his retirement in December 2004.

Buck holds a B.S. in biology from Kansas State University and a Ph.D. in microbiology from Montana State University. After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California, Irvine, he joined the University of Pennsylvania as assistant professor of therapeutic research. He then became associate professor of biology at Kansas State University. In 1975, he joined The Wistar Institute as professor and became a member of The Wistar Institute Cancer Center. He became Wistar Institute professor of biology at the University of Pennsylvania in 1984, adding Wistar Institute professorships at the University of Pennsylvania in pediatric cardiology and pediatrics in medicine in 1993 and 1994 respectively; he continues in each of these positions today. At Wistar, he was director of scientific development between 1990 and 1992. From 1992 to 1999, he was deputy director of the institute. In 1999, he was named chief administrative officer, a position he held until his appointment as acting director & CEO in 2000. After stepping down as acting director and CEO in 2002, he assumed the position of vice president for academic affairs through 2004.

During his time at the Institute, Buck has made major contributions to the field of cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion and the roles of specific adhesion receptors in cancer and cardiovascular development. Buck was editor-in-chief of the journal Cell Adhesions and Communication from 1992 to 1999 and has served as an ad-hoc referee for many leading journals, including Science, Nature, Cell, Journal of Cell Biology, Journal of Clinical Investigation, Journal of Cell Science, and Development Biology. In addition, he has given lectures by invitation at many prestigious institutions and meetings. He is co-author of more than 115 publications as scientific papers, reviews, conference presentations, and book chapters.