Shelley Berger, PhD, honored by AACR for cancer research

PHILADELPHIA – Shelley L. Berger, PhD, FAACR, has been recognized for her outstanding contributions to cancer research by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) with the 2025 AACR-Women in Cancer Research Charlotte Friend Lectureship. Berger is the Daniel S. Och University Professor with appointments in the Perelman School of Medicine department of Cell & Developmental Biology and the School of Arts & Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is a Penn Integrates Knowledge (PIK) Professor.

The lectureship is given annually to a scientist who has made meritorious contributions to the field of cancer research and who has furthered the advancement of women in science. It is part of AACR’s Scientific Achievement Awards program and will be presented at the 2025 AACR Annual Meeting, taking place April 25-30 in Chicago.

Berger is the founder and director of the Penn Epigenetics Institute and the codirector of the Tumor Biology Program at Penn Medicine’s Abramson Cancer Center (ACC). Her work lies at the intersection of genetics, epigenetics, genomics, computational biology, and cell and developmental biology.

“Dr. Berger’s impact is due in part to her exceptional ability to galvanize groups for trailblazing collaborative research, as she has done in epigenetics and more recently in cancer immunology,” said Robert Vonderheide, MD, DPhil, director of the ACC. “We are deeply impressed by her commitment to fostering the careers of women faculty and trainees, both here at Penn and at the national level.”

Groundbreaking research and a commitment to mentorship

Berger is being recognized for her fundamental discoveries in cancer epigenetics, including how histone modifications and transcription factors regulate cancer, aging, and T cell function. Her groundbreaking research has elucidated key mechanisms of tumor suppressor p53 regulation, chromatin remodeling, and immune cell epigenetics, advancing our understanding of cancer biology and therapeutic strategies.

She is also recognized for her transformative leadership in mentoring the next generation of scientists, expanding opportunities for researchers from all backgrounds, and shaping national policies to strengthen the biomedical workforce. She has mentored dozens of trainees who have gone on to successful careers in academia and teaching, the pharmaceutical industry, and scientific writing. Currently, her lab includes 20 trainees, comprising a mix of undergraduates, graduate students, and postdoctoral researchers.

Berger is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the American Association for Cancer Research. She has published 250 papers and reviews, with many in high-impact journals, such as Nature, Science, and Cell.

Berger’s award lecture will be held on Tuesday, April 29, at 5 p.m. CT in Room S103.

Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.

The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $580 million awarded in the 2023 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts,” Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries that have shaped modern medicine, including CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the Nobel Prize-winning mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System cares for patients in facilities and their homes stretching from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. UPHS facilities include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Doylestown Health, Lancaster General Health, Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, chartered in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Penn Medicine at Home, GSPP Rehabilitation, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.

Penn Medicine is an $11.9 billion enterprise powered by nearly 49,000 talented faculty and staff.