Russel E. Kaufman
(Emeritus Director)Dr. Kaufman, M.D. has been an academic leader in biomedicine for 35 years, serving as Chief of Hematology/ Oncology, Vice Dean, and Associate Vice Chancellor at Duke University, where he is an emeritus professor of Medicine and Biochemistry.
After leaving Duke in 2002, he became President and CEO of The Wistar Institute in Philadelphia, from which he retired in March 2015 and is president emeritus. He now is Venture Partner for Pappas-Capital in North Carolina and founder of Kaufman LifeSciences.
Dr. Kaufman maintained an active research program investigating the genetics of blood diseases and cancer over his academic career. He has published over 100 scientific reports. At Duke he had a medical practice in internal medicine and hematology/oncology. A fellow of the American College of Physicians, he has received honors for his work from the March of Dimes and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America, Dr. Kaufman was also named one of the first Searle Scholars, a prestigious program that supports top-flight academic research in biomedicine and chemistry.
Dr. Kaufman has been very active in the growing life sciences industry in the greater Philadelphia region, having served on many boards, including the University City Science Center, the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, CEO Council for Growth, BioAdvance, Biotechnology Greenhouse Corporation of Southeastern Pennsylvania, the University of the Arts, Osage Venture Partners II, the Keystone Innovation Zone Executive Committee, Co-Chair, Venture Capital-Commercialization Working Group, CEO Council for Growth, Neuland Laboratories Ltd. Hyderabad, India, and the A. M. Pappas & Associates.
He 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 received the Alumnae Achievement Award in 1993 from The Ohio State University School of Medicine and the Professional Achievement Award in 2009 from The Ohio State University Alumni Association.