New Chief Scientific Officer Selected

Congratulations to Susan Furth, MD, PhD, who has been selected as CHOP Research Institute’s new Chief Scientific Officer, effective June 1, 2021.

Dr. Furth has been with CHOP since 2010, and she currently serves as vice chair of the Department of Pediatrics, associate chair of Academic Affairs, and chief of the Division of Nephrology. She is also a tenured professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Epidemiology at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

She has had continuous NIH funding for more than 25 years and has led the landmark international cohort study, Chronic Kidney Disease in Children (CKiD), for almost 20 years. CKiD has defined the natural history and clinical co-morbidities in children with kidney disease, spurring clinical trials of targeted therapies to improve outcomes. Dr. Furth also leads an NIH-funded Center of Excellence in Pediatric Nephrology, which aims to break down barriers to clinical trials of novel therapies in children with rare kidney diseases.

Dr. Furth is an elected member of the Association of American Physicians and holds many national and international leadership roles in research. She served as President of the Society for Pediatric Research and on the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes Evidence Based Practice Guidelines Committee and is a Councilor for the International Pediatric Nephrology Association. Among her many national recognitions and awards are election to the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars, the 2020 Maureen Andrew Mentor Award from the Society of Pediatric Research, and the 2020 FOCUS Award for the Advancement of Women in Medicine from Penn Medicine.

Dr. Furth’s passion for helping junior investigators develop their careers is evident in how she has personally mentored many students, residents, postdoctoral fellows, and junior faculty. She held a NIH Mid-Career Mentoring Award for 10 years and developed the Carole Marcus Mid-Career Award to Promote Career Development and Mentoring in Pediatric Research at CHOP.

She was Deputy Director for Research Education, Training and Career Development at the Institute for Clinical and Translational Research at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine prior to coming to CHOP and is a graduate of the Executive Leadership in Academic Medicine program. She holds a PhD from Johns Hopkins University and an MD from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania.

In speaking with CHOP CEO Madeline Bell, Dr. Furth said, “I am inspired every day by the remarkably talented investigators and dedicated clinicians at CHOP. It’s an honor to have the opportunity to lead the Research Institute. Together, we will accelerate discoveries and breakthroughs that will have a profound impact on the health and lives of children.”

Chief Scientific Officer Bryan Wolf, MD, PhD, is retiring and will be with the Research Institute through the end of June.