[October 18, 2017; Philadelphia, PA] – Penn Vet’s Dr. Oliver A. Garden, BSc, BVetMed, PhD, has been named as the Corinne R. and Henry Bower Professor of Medicine. Candidates for endowed professorships are selected for their expertise, research, and high regard in the academic community.
“Dr. Garden is a dynamic new member of the Penn Vet faculty, an eminent scholar, and a visionary leader,” said Joan C. Hendricks, VMD, PhD, the Gilbert S. Kahn Dean of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. “His compelling vision for the future of advancing our understanding of disease treatment, diagnosis, and prevention will continue to improve clinical care at Penn Vet. I expect to see him accelerate our impact in all aspects of medicine to improve the lives of animals and the people who love them. He embodies the One Health agenda.”
The Bower Professorship in Medicine was established in 1981 by Henry Bower in memory of his wife Corinne. Bower, a 1918 graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, took a lifelong interest in the University.
“I am profoundly grateful and honored to hold the Corrine R. and Henry Bower Professorship of Medicine,” said Garden. “It is an immense privilege to work among a distinguished faculty who have a profound impact on animal and human health worldwide. Their talents and achievements position Penn Vet as a leader in translational research, education, and clinical care.”
Garden joined Penn Vet in 2016 as the Chair of the Clinical Studies and Advanced Medicine department. The department is home to the Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital as well as to over 54 faculty members who play an active role in clinical practice and ongoing research. Prior to arriving at Penn Vet, Garden served as Professor of Comparative Medicine and Immunology and head of the Oncology Special Interest Group at the Royal Veterinary College, University of London. He also served as a clinician in the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals, the largest companion animal referral center in Europe, where his clinical interests were gastrointestinal and immune-mediated diseases. Garden’s research focuses on regulatory T cells and myeloid-derived suppressor cells in dogs and mice, in both the healthy organism and in the context of autoimmune disease and cancer.
Garden graduated from the Royal Veterinary College after earning his Bachelor of Science degree from King’s College London. Following a rotating internship in small animal medicine and surgery, Garden completed a Wellcome Trust Clinical PhD program in small animal gastroenterology and immunology at the Royal Veterinary College, followed by a Wellcome Trust Research Training Fellowship at the School of Medicine at the University of South Carolina. He then held a residency in small animal internal medicine at Cornell University. Garden also completed a Wellcome Trust Advanced Fellowship within the Department of Immunology at Imperial College London, where he later served as a Visiting Professor. He is a diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine and the European College of Veterinary Internal Medicine-Companion Animals.
About Endowed Professorships at Penn
Endowed professorships maximize Penn’s momentum in recruiting and retaining the best and brightest faculty. As part of University of Pennsylvania President Amy Gutmann’s initiative to create up to 50 endowed professorships by 2018, these Professorships enable Penn Vet to advance the strategic priorities of the Penn Compact 2020.