PHILADELPHIA (June 28, 2011) — David S. Weinberg, MD, MSc, Chair of the Department of Medicine and Director of Gastroenterology at Fox Chase Cancer Center, has been appointed to the Audrey Weg Schaus and Geoffrey Alan Weg Endowed Chair in Medical Science. Fox Chase's 16 endowed chairs, each supported by generous philanthropists, allow the institution to recognize outstanding clinicians and researchers and ensure funding for promising lines of research.
"I am deeply honored by this appointment and thankful to the Weg family for their profound generosity in funding this chair," Weinberg says. "As a researcher who also maintains an active clinical practice, I see firsthand how research advances can have a positive impact on patients. The financial support provided by the endowed chairs, furnished by magnanimous people like the Wegs, is vital to ensuring that this critical research continues."
The Audrey Weg Schaus and Geoffrey Alan Weg Chair in Medical Science recognizes and supports an outstanding leader in medical science who represents the highest standards of excellence. The chair was established in 2001 by Fox Chase Board of Directors member Kenneth E. Weg and his wife Carol Weg, and is named for their children.
"This appointment is a wonderful way to both recognize Dr. Weinberg's outstanding work at the Center over the last decade and support him as he continues to conduct crucial research," says Michael V. Seiden, MD, PhD, President and CEO of Fox Chase. "Because his research focuses heavily on prevention and screening, Dr. Weinberg is a natural choice for this chair, which Carol and Kenneth Weg named for their children to underscore its focus on benefitting future generations."
In addition to operating an active clinical practice in general gastroenterology, Dr. Weinberg is a distinguished cancer researcher. His work focuses primarily on the prevention and control of gastrointestinal malignancies with a particular interest in novel methods to promote cancer screening utilization and the role of novel biomarkers in cancer prevention and control.
Prior to joining Fox Chase in 2001, Weinberg received his undergraduate degree from Yale University, earned his MD from Cornell University Medical College, and completed an internship and residency in internal medicine at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston and Gastroenterology fellowship training at the University of Pennsylvania. Recently, he was named a "Top Doctor" in the May issue of Philadelphia magazine.