The Wistar Institute’s Board of Trustees has appointed Ronny Drapkin, MD, PhD, a physician-scientist and ovarian cancer researcher at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, to be the Institute’s next President and Chief Executive Officer, effective November 30, 2026.
Ronny Drapkin, MD, PhD
Dr. Drapkin succeeds Dario Altieri, MD, who is stepping down after a decade of leadership.
As Wistar President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Drapkin will lead the Institute’s early-stage discovery research in cancer, immunology and infectious disease; strengthen and expand its workforce education and training programs; and broaden support for Wistar’s scientific mission and future growth by working closely with donors, trustees, corporate and academic partners, and policymakers.
Dr. Drapkin’s appointment comes at a milestone moment for Wistar, which has expanded to 43 principal investigators, including 6 hired this year. He will guide Wistar’s contributions to the life science ecosystem regionally, nationally and globally. As biomedical research becomes increasingly interdisciplinary, data-driven and translational, Dr. Drapkin’s experience spanning laboratory science, clinical medicine, team science, and institutional leadership uniquely positions him to build on that momentum in propelling Wistar’s next phase of growth.
As the Franklin Payne Professor of Pathology in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Drapkin leads an active lab known for cutting-edge research focused on high-grade ovarian carcinoma. His laboratory played a leading role in establishing the fallopian tube as the principal site of origin for these cancers—a discovery that fundamentally changed understanding of how ovarian cancer develops and has helped drive new approaches to prevention, including opportunistic removal of the fallopian tubes in average-risk women and risk-reducing strategies for women with inherited BRCA1/2 mutations. Building on this work, Dr. Drapkin also leads an international effort to build a comprehensive atlas of ovarian precancer, bringing together investigators around the world to define the earliest molecular and cellular changes that precede cancer and nominate new biomarkers for early detection and targets for prevention and therapy.
At Penn Medicine, Dr. Drapkin directs the Ovarian Cancer Research Center, serves as Director of the Gynecologic Cancer Research program at the Basser Center for BRCA, and co-directs the Ovarian Cancer Translational Center of Excellence at the Abramson Cancer Center. His work focuses on interdisciplinary research that unites scientists, physicians, and other experts in local, regional and international collaborations—the same team-based approach that drives discovery at Wistar. His other organizational leadership roles include Deputy Dean of the Department of Defense Ovarian Cancer Academy; Director of the BioTrust Collection, a repository for gynecologic oncology research; and Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins University – University of Pennsylvania Specialized Program of Research Excellence in Ovarian Cancer.
“I am honored to assume this leadership role at an institution I have so long admired and help it further expand its contributions to life-saving medical science,” said Dr. Drapkin. “Wistar’s scientific engine has never been a more powerful driver of biomedical innovation and regional economic growth than it is right now. Few basic research centers have achieved such an extraordinary record of scientific contribution while maintaining the agility, focus, and commitment to collaboration that characterize Wistar. Its impressive expansion in research programs and facilities, together with its commitment to fundamental discovery and translational impact, reflect a clear commitment to excellence and a willingness to embrace ambitious goals. I am especially excited by the opportunity to build on that foundation and create new opportunities for exceptional scientists to pursue bold research questions, make fundamental discoveries, forge new collaborations and, where possible, translate those discoveries into advances that improve human health. I am grateful for the years I spent at Penn and hope to continue many of the fruitful collaborations between Penn and Wistar.”
Dr. Drapkin trained as an MD-PhD physician-scientist at Rutgers University, where he earned his medical degree and PhD in biochemistry and molecular biology. He completed residency training in pathology at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, followed by postdoctoral training at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. He subsequently joined the Harvard faculty as the first recruit to the joint Brigham and Women’s Hospital–Dana-Farber Center for Molecular Oncologic Pathology. In 2015, he was recruited to the University of Pennsylvania, where he built and leads a multidisciplinary ovarian cancer research program spanning basic discovery, translational science, early detection, and cancer prevention.
Dr. Drapkin is no stranger to The Wistar Institute: he arrives with firsthand knowledge of its science and collaborative culture. Since 2016, he has been an affiliate of Wistar’s Ellen and Ronald Caplan Cancer Center. His collaborations with Wistar faculty have produced multiple publications and jointly funded research projects.
“Dr. Drapkin has been an outstanding scientist, collaborator, and colleague at Penn Medicine, and he is the ideal person to lead The Wistar Institute into its next chapter,” said Jonathan A. Epstein, MD, Dean of the Perelman School of Medicine and Executive Vice President of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System. “His appointment presents a tremendous opportunity to further strengthen the longstanding relationship between Penn and Wistar, building on our shared commitment to advancing scientific discovery and translating research into meaningful improvements in human health. I look forward to working closely with him and the Wistar team to deepen our scientific and programmatic collaborations and pursue new opportunities together.”
