PHILADELPHIA The Whitaker Foundation has announced a $14 million Leadership-Development Award to the University of Pennsylvania Department of Bioengineering, a leader in bioengineering education since granting the nation first Ph.D. in the discipline 40 years ago.

The Whitaker funds will be matched by university support of $42.8 million, for a total $56.8 million initiative in bioengineering.

"The university strong belief in and commitment to the important role of engineering and technology on its campus is reflected in this extraordinarily generous investment in this initiative," said Eduardo D. Glandt, dean of Penn School of Engineering and Applied Science.

The multi-year Whitaker grant will make possible new facilities for Penn Bioengineering, the recruitment of seven new faculty members and additional funds for graduate student support.

"We are pleased and honored to be the recipients of this award acknowledging Penn strength in biomedical engineering education and research," said Daniel A. Hammer, professor and chair of bioengineering at Penn and principal investigator on the award. "This is an extraordinary time for biomedical engineering in the U.S., and Penn, with its strengths in engineering and medicine, is well-poised to take advantage of new medical discoveries and new advances in human health."

A major objective of the grant is to use insights and techniques of modern molecular medicine and cell biology to prevent and treat diseases, Hammer said, through technologies such as genomics, proteomics and cell and tissue engineering.

"Engineering will play an increasing role in the development and application of these concepts from fundamental biology to clinical treatment," Hammer said.

The Whitaker award is earmarked for further development of four of the department existing clinical research and teaching strengths: orthopedic bioengineering, cardiovascular bioengineering, injury bioengineering and neuroengineering.

Penn bioengineering department, one of the nation first, was established in 1973, with the first Penn undergraduate receiving a bachelors in bioengineering two years later. Among its peers, Penn Bioengineering is recognized for the quality of its teaching, particularly at the undergraduate level. The latest Whitaker award caps a steady evolution of the department teaching and research programs, including two Whitaker Foundation Special Opportunity Awards and the development of laboratory, clinical preceptorial and design courses.

The formation of the interdisciplinary Institute for Medicine and Engineering in 1996 by Penn schools of Engineering and Applied Science and Medicine has catalyzed new research and educational programs. Facilitated by the Institute, bioengineering students enjoy hands-on training, gaining direct knowledge of physicianswork through clinical rotations with doctors in Penn top-ranked School of Medicine.

A cornerstone of Penn Agenda for Excellence, the bioengineering department will gain a new building, with modern research and educational facilities, from the Whitaker award. The grant will also allow the department, now 14 faculty members strong, to grow in size by more than 50 percent.

Based in Arlington, Va., The Whitaker Foundation mission is to promote better human health through advancements in medicine and rehabilitation. The Foundation administers a series of competitive grant programs supporting research and education in biomedical engineering at academic institutions in the United States and Canada.