Dr. Jeffrey L. Benovic, the Thomas Eakins Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, has been named a Fellow of The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET).
ASPET created its Fellows program in 2019 to recognize sustained impact in the field of pharmacology, service to ASPET, and demonstrated excellence in mentorship and education. The ASPET Council recognized Dr. Benovic for his exceptional contributions to the advancement of pharmacology, for his decades of service as a member of the editorial board of its flagship journal Molecular Pharmacology, and for his outstanding commitment to mentorship and education. Dr. Benovic joins an esteemed group of 113 Fellows that includes several Nobel Laureates. He was previously recognized by ASPET in 2014 with its Julius Axelrod award, which is presented for significant contributions to understanding the biochemical mechanisms underlying the pharmacological actions of drugs and for contributions to mentoring trainees in the pharmacological sciences. In 2023, Dr. Benovic was recognized with the George Koelle award, which is the highest award bestowed by his home ASPET chapter, the Mid-Atlantic Pharmacology Society.
Dr. Benovic earned a BS in biochemistry from the Pennsylvania State University and a PhD in biochemistry at Duke University, where he completed graduate and post-doctoral studies under Nobel Laureate Robert Lefkowitz. Dr. Benovic began his independent research career at Temple University School of Medicine in 1989 and moved to the Kimmel Cancer Center at Thomas Jefferson University in 1991. The Benovic laboratory studies mechanisms that regulate G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling, which is relevant for the mechanism of action of one third of all pharmaceuticals. Dr. Benovic has published over 320 manuscripts and reviews, and his work has been supported continuously by the National Institutes of Health for 35 years. Current research in the Benovic laboratory focuses on the development of biased ligands and allosteric modulators to improve the efficacy of GPCR-directed drugs and reduce their side effects.
Dr. Benovic has trained more than 50 predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows in his laboratory, and he has held leadership positions in education including Director of the Molecular Pharmacology and Structural Biology PhD Program in the Jefferson College of Life Sciences, and Associate Director for Education in the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center. Dr. Benovic is currently the Principal Investigator of a training grant in Cellular, Biochemical and Molecular Sciences that supports numerous trainees in Jefferson graduate programs. Dr. Benovic was Chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Jefferson from 2005-2017. He has been recognized with many prestigious awards, including MERIT and Outstanding Investigator awards from the National Institutes of Health, and with both research and service career achievement awards from the Sidney Kimmel Medical College. Dr. Benovic was named a Fellow of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology in 2022.