Giovanni Rovera, M.D.

Giovanni Rovera, M.D., served as Wistar’s director from 1991 until 2000, having joined the faculty in 1975. Rovera’s interest in and long-standing commitment to cancer research led him to recruit a talented group of young cancer investigators with expertise in genetics, structural biology, biology, and immunology. Rovera refocused the scientific direction of the Institute and created a research program in gene expression and regulation.

Rovera’s research at Wistar focused on childhood leukemia, including lymphoblastic leukemia, and the detection of minimal residual disease.  Rovera served on a number of scientific organizations and review panels and held numerous editorial positions, including associate editor of the Journal of Cellular Physiology.

Rovera holds a medical degree from the University of Torino School of Medicine, Italy. After completing postdoctoral fellowships at both the University of Torino and Temple University, he joined the School of Medicine at Temple as an assistant professor of pathology. Rovera joined Wistar as an associate professor in 1975 and was subsequently promoted to professor in 1979. He became associate director of the Institute in 1988 and held that position until his appointment as director in 1991. The following year, he also became director of the Wistar Institute Cancer Center.

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