Joint Biomedical Hires Pave the Way Toward Discovery
By Helen W. Boucher, MD, FACP, FIDSA, (Hon) FRCPI
Dean and Professor of Medicine
Tufts University School of Medicine
Chief Academic Officer, Tufts Medicine
I am very pleased to announce the first two hires of a planned, joint cluster hire initiative between Tufts University School of Medicine and Tufts Medicine. Elizabeth A. White, PhD, will join the School of Medicine’s Department of Developmental, Molecular, and Chemical Biology (DMCB) as an associate professor on November 1, 2024, and Rebecca Perkins, MD, MSc, will join Tufts Medicine and the Tufts Medical Center Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the Mother Infant Research Institute as a professor on January 1, 2025.
The joint cluster to which Professors White and Perkins have been hired is an initiative aimed at enhancing interdisciplinary research and teaching across multiple departments. The initiative reflects the commitment Tufts University President Sunil Kumar has to fostering collaboration and innovation in biomedical research and reducing health disparities. President Kumar’s sponsorship of this important initiative has allowed Professors White and Perkins to bring exceptional academic and research accomplishments in the field of cervical cancer, with a focus on human papillomavirus (HPV).
“Our commitment to advancing health and science is strengthened by investing in innovative collaborations between our medical school and health system,” said President Kumar, who has championed this effort. “Joint faculty hires in biomedical research are key to breaking down disciplinary barriers and fostering groundbreaking discoveries. By bringing together experts across fields, we not only enhance our research capabilities but also improve the quality of education and care we provide. These joint appointments will further illuminate the talent within our Tufts faculty while accelerating the pace of innovation and lead to cutting-edge medical advancements.”
Dr. White earned her bachelor’s degree in biochemistry and molecular biology from Dartmouth College and her PhD in biology from the University of California San Diego. At the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. White ran a federally funded research laboratory focused on the mechanisms of HPV-host interactions and cancer. Her expertise has enabled the success of several clinical and translational research projects, including her most recent collaborations. She was appointed in 2016 and rose to the rank of associate professor (with tenure) in 2024. Dr. White’s research findings as an independent investigator have been published in numerous high-impact journals. Since 2017, she has authored 18 publications, 10 of which are last or corresponding author papers in journals including eLife, mBio, PNAS, and PLOS Pathogens. Notably, she published several papers with her clinical colleagues at the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. White’s record of funding is equally impressive, including an R01, an R21, an R56 (current), and a Research Scholar Award from the American Cancer Society (2018-2022), all of which underscore her robust research and distinguished leadership in her field.
Dr. White has been a frequent ad hoc member of NIH grant review panels and is now a standing member of the NIH Viral Pathogenesis and Immunity (VPI) review panel. She is a current member of the editorial boards of Virology and Journal of Virology and reviews frequently for these and other journals. She has chaired sessions for several conferences and workshops and lectured at many national and international universities. She is active in university service and is deeply committed to mentoring postdoctoral fellows, undergraduate students, post-baccalaureate researchers, and medical student and resident trainees.
“Dr. White will be an outstanding addition to the DMCB faculty and will greatly strengthen our cancer research efforts. Human Papillomaviruses (HPVs) cause approximately 1 in 20 cancers worldwide, making it one of the leading causes of cancer in females globally. Despite the availability of a prophylactic vaccine, HPV will remain a significant contributor to cancer incidence for decades to come. As such, Dr. White’s expertise and ongoing research in HPV-associated malignancies will be critical in advancing our understanding of the virus’s role in cancer development, improving therapeutic strategies, and ultimately contributing to better prevention and treatment outcomes for HPV-related cancers,” says Dr. Karl Munger, interim vice dean for research, the Dorothy Todd Bishop Research Professor and chair of developmental, molecular and chemical biology.
Dr. Perkins earned her BA degree in human biology from Stanford University, completed medical school at Harvard Medical School, and earned a Master of Science in health policy and management from Boston University School of Public Health. Dr. Perkins joins Tufts as a gynecologist, health services researcher, dedicated educator, and national leader to help expand our multidisciplinary translational research in HPV. After her appointment in 2005, Dr. Perkins rose in 2021 to the rank of professor of obstetrics and gynecology. Over the past 18 years, she has received continuous funding and published over 150 papers on HPV vaccination, cervical cancer screening, and management of precancerous lesions with a focus on reducing health disparities. She has numerous national honors and serves on many national and international committees, including her appointment to the European Commission Initiative on Cervical Cancer (EC-CvC) as a member of the expert pool. Her recent research has included designing an intervention to improve HPV vaccination rates (DOSE-HPV) and performing a multi-site randomized trial intervention among safety net populations in the greater Boston area. The DOSE-HPV intervention was recognized by the National Cancer Institute and included in its Evidence-Based Cancer Control Programs portfolio; the intervention was adapted by the American Cancer Society for use in its successful Vaccinate Adolescents against Cancer program that focused on federally qualified health centers in the southeastern United States. Her clinical expertise as a gynecologist, many leadership positions, and committee memberships have allowed her to significantly advance translational research and the science of cervical cancer.
“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Perkins and Dr. White to Tufts in our first joint cluster which, excitingly, focuses on a critical topic in women’s health,” said Dr. Perrie O’Tierney-Ginn, director of the Mother Infant Research Institute at Tufts Medical Center, research associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at TUSM, and associate professor of nutrition interventions, communications, and behavior change at Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.
About the Joint Cluster
This initiative is part of a broader effort to more strategically support critical research collaborations between TUSM and Tufts Medicine to enhance the work of the Tufts Research Executive Committee (REC) and their vision to advance translational, transdisciplinary research with a health justice lens. This vision leverages the strengths of both the medical school and the health system and creates even more opportunity for collaboration. Thanks to President Kumar’s support, the REC has been working together to recruit clustered faculty members. This means the hiring of complementary faculty members—one in the School of Medicine and a second in the academic health system—to enrich and expand key concepts of the research vision shared by both institutions, with Drs. White and Perkins as the first two of these hires.
Drs. White and Perkins’ exceptional academic and research accomplishments in the field of HPV-associated cancers will be an enormous asset to the Tufts community. They represent outstanding additions to our faculty, and we are very fortunate to have them joining us soon.