Kenneth Blank
Office of Research
3201 Arch Street Suite 100
Philaldelphia, PA 1910
Dr. Ken Blank was appointed Vice Provost for Research in 2006. Prior to this appointment he was Senior Associate Vice Provost for Research from 1998 to 2006 and as Associate Dean for Research at Allegheny University of the Health Sciences (now Drexel University College of Medicine) from 1994 to 1998.
Dr. Blank received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from New York University, University College of Arts and Sciences in 1970 and his Ph.D. in Genetics from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Yeshiva University in 1977. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania College of Medicine, was appointed as an Assistant Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at this same institution in 1981. In 1986, Dr. Blank moved to Temple University College of Medicine as an Associate Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology. In 1990, he became Professor of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at Hahnemann University College of Medicine. While at Hahnemann University he became the Founding Director of the Experimental Pathology Graduate Program.
Dr. Blank’s research involves analysis of the genetic regulation of host-virus interactions that occur during infection with retrovirus. These studies involved examination of how genetic background determines the ability to generate effective protective immune responses against retrovirus infections. This work has been supported primarily by the National Institutes of Health and he has received recognition as a Scholar of the Leukemia Society of America. He is an author on over 60 peer reviewed publications and has trained 14 Ph.D. students.