Program overview
Kristin Eckert, PhD, will present the Fall 2022 Penn State College of Medicine Dean's Lecture.
Credit
This lecture will be available via Zoom and recorded to view after the lecture. CME credit provided to those who attend.
Penn State College of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. Penn State College of Medicine designates this live activity for a maximum of 1 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™.
Sponsored by
Office of the Dean at Penn State College of Medicine
Kristin Eckert, PhD
Professor, Department of Pathology and Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Chief, Division of Experimental Pathology
Associate Director for Cancer Research Training and Education, Penn State Cancer Institute
Kristin Eckert, PhD, is a tenured professor of pathology and biochemistry and molecular biology at Penn State . She has held numerous leadership roles within the College of Medicine and Penn State, and currently serves as Chief of the Division Experimental Pathology, Vice Chair of Research for Pathology, and Associate Director for Cancer Research Training and Education for Penn State Cancer Institute.
Her research career has been devoted to studying mechanisms of mutagenesis in human cells, particularly in relation to tumor cell evolution. Her research embraces interdisciplinary collaborations to discover how the human genome is replicated in a highly efficient and accurate manner. She is a leader in the fields of human DNA polymerase biochemistry and mechanisms of repetitive DNA sequence stability, with over 70 high impact publications and a continual record of funding from NIH and other sources, including two active NIH R01s. She serves as an expert grant and program reviewer for the NIH and other agencies.
Since beginning her independent career, Dr. Eckert also has been actively committed to teaching and education. She has successfully mentored over 30 trainees in research across the full spectrum of learners: high school, undergraduate, graduate, postdoctoral, resident, faculty and professional (science teacher) levels. Her previous mentees enjoy a broad range of scientific careers, including academia (tenured professors), government, and the private sector.
In addition, Dr. Eckert previously served as a member of the Penn State Graduate Council and Director of the College of Medicine's Office of Postdoctoral Affairs, and she was instrumental in forming the Cancer Biology option of the Biomedical Sciences graduate program. She was named a Distinguished Educator of Penn State College of Medicine in 2015 in recognition of her leadership, teaching and mentoring excellence.
Dr. Eckert received her BS degree in microbiology from Penn State in 1982, and her PhD degree in oncology (minor, genetics) from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1988.
She was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and joined the Penn State College of Medicine faculty in 1993.