Mark Berry
Mark Berry, MD, professor of cardiothoracic surgery, was appointed the Mylavarapu Rogers Professor in Cardiothoracic Surgery. He specializes in treating thoracic surgical conditions with minimally invasive techniques, such as video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery and laparoscopic, robotic, endoscopic and bronchoscopic approaches. His clinical research focuses on the use of these techniques and on evaluating outcomes after treatment of thoracic malignancies.
The professorship was established with a gift from Swati Mylavarapu and Matt Rogers to support a faculty member in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery. Mylavarapu was a partner at Kleiner Perkins and Rogers co-founded the smart-home company Nest in 2010. In 2017, the couple founded Incite.org, a multipronged organization that includes an investment firm to support mission-driven enterprises and a nonprofit to advance education and science.
Aaron Gitler
Aaron Gitler, PhD, professor of genetics, was appointed the Basic Science Professor. His research focuses on protein-misfolding disorders and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and Lou Gehrig's disease, also called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. By understanding the mechanisms driving protein-misfolding, he aims to identify strategies for therapeutic intervention.
The professorship was established with a gift from an anonymous donor to support a faculty member in the basic sciences in the School of Medicine.