P. Roy Vagelos & University of Pennsylvania
P. Roy Vagelos is an accomplished Penn alumnus (College of Arts & Sciences, 1950). He earned the B.S. in Chemistry at the University of Pennsylvania and the M.D. at Columbia University. After a residency at Massachusetts General Hospital, he joined the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD. There he worked closely with the lab of Dr. Earl Stadtman and eventually became Section Head of Biochemistry. His research during this time focused on lipid metabolism and discovery of the acyl-carrier protein. In 1966, Dr. Vagelos became chair of the Department of Biological Chemistry at the Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, MO. In 1975 he joined Merck as Senior Vice President for Research, becoming CEO in 1984-1994. Merck became the world leader in the development of medicines for cardiovascular disease. Efforts at Merck during this time in the development of ivermectin to treat African river blindness were recognized with the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2015. He is the author of more than 100 scientific papers and has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the National Institute of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Philosophical Society. At Penn, Dr. Vagelos has been part of the board of trustees (1988-1999), serving as chair from 1995 to 1999.
There are many programs and buildings at Penn associated with him, his wife Diana Vagelos, and/or his family.
(a) Roy and Diana Vagelos Program in Life Sciences & Management (LSM). This is a program for either College or Wharton students interested in management and scientific expertise for careers in pharmaceutical or biotechnology related industries. Application to this program starts at the admissions office website.
(b) Roy and Diana Vagelos Scholars Program in the Molecular Life Sciences (MLS) is contained in the College of Arts and Sciences. Students begin as first-years and major in two sciences or submatriculate for the MS. It is a four-year program. Students in this program plan to pursue scientific research careers. Scholars are invited from the students admitted for the entering first-year class at the beginning of April.
(c) Roy and Diana Vagelos Science Challenge Award is given to outstanding undergraduates who are Biochemistry, Biophysics, Chemistry or Physics Majors and have exceptional promise for careers in the basic and applied sciences. This Award provides current tuition and fees and is awarded independent of financial need.
(d) Roy and Marianthi Vagelos Scholarship was established by Roy and Diana Vagelos in memory of his parents. This is administered by Student Registration and Financial Services.
(e) Vagelos Field Hockey Field, completed in 2013, is named for Ellen Vagelos C’90.
(f) Vagelos Grant/Award for Undergraduate Research was formerly called the Nassau Grant and the President’s Award for Undergraduate Research, respectively. This change in 2007 was a consequence of a “Roy Vagelos Innovation Grant Program” funded by a group of Trustees and friends led by Leonard A. Lauder of Estée Lauder Companies in 1999 to mark P. Roy Vagelos’ tenure as chair of the Penn Board of Trustees. The Vagelos Grants provide support for undergraduate summer internships. The Vagelos Awards recognize outstanding completed undergraduate research projects. See the Center for Undergraduate Research and Fellowships (CURF).
(g) Vagelos Laboratory for First-year Chemistry is on the west side of the Chemistry teaching facility renovation project of 2009-2010. This is separate from the Building completed in 1997.
(h) Vagelos Integrated Program in Energy Research (VIPER) is a joint program between the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) and the College of Arts and Sciences. An emphasis is placed on starting students on the path to productive research careers in energy science and engineering.
(i) Vagelos Institute for Energy Science and Technology was established in 2016 through the generosity of Roy and Diana Vagelos with the vision to make Penn home to one of the premier energy research and technology centers in the nation.
(j) Vagelos Laboratory for Energy Science and Technology will serve as the home the University’s existing and future energy research.