UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Gary Perdew, Distinguished Professor in the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences, has been named to the John T. and Paige S. Smith Professorship in Agricultural Sciences.

The Smith Professorship, made possible by an endowment from alumni John Smith and his late wife, Paige, is intended to supplement departmental support and provide resources for outstanding Penn State faculty to further their contributions to teaching, research and public service.

Perdew is recognized internationally for his landmark work on how environmental toxins and pollutants, especially dioxins, cause significant alterations in gene expression in mammalian cells. His research program examines the function and molecular dynamics of the receptor for aromatic hydrocarbons. He is currently looking at specific proteins involved in regulating the aromatic hydrocarbon receptor in cells and the role these proteins play in gene expression.

"Gary Perdew is a highly respected scholar whose important research is helping us understand how chemicals in our environment can affect human health," says Robert Steele, dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences. "We're grateful for the Smiths' generosity, which will help to enhance the impact of Dr. Perdew's scientific and educational pursuits."

Perdew, who has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in biochemical and molecular toxicology, is the director of the university's Center for Molecular Toxicology and Carcinogenesis. From 1999 to 2005, he was co-director of the Life Science Consortium's graduate program in cellular and molecular mechanisms of toxicity. He served as interim head of the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences from 1996 to 1997.

Perdew earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in food science from the University of Maryland and his doctorate in food science from Oregon State University, where he received a Chiles Foundation Graduate Fellowship. In 2002, he was awarded Penn State's Faculty Scholar Medal for Outstanding Achievement in Life and Health Sciences.

John T. Smith, a resident of York, is a 1942 alumnus of Penn State with a degree in agricultural education. Paige S. Smith also was a Penn State graduate, earning a degree in home economics in 1948.

John Smith spent 31 years as an educator with Penn State Cooperative Extension in Snyder, Warren, Erie, Crawford and York counties, retiring as York County extension director. He has been active in numerous local, regional and national agricultural organizations and has a long record of involvement and support for agriculture and youth development through such programs as 4-H and FFA.

The Smiths' philanthropic activities also have included establishment of the John T. and Paige S. Smith Scholarship in Agricultural and Extension Education; the John T. and Paige S. Smith Scholarship Fund and the John T. and Paige S. Smith Professorship in Science at Penn State York; and the John T. and Paige S. Smith Endowed Athletic Scholarship. In addition, the Smiths created a fund in the College of Health and Human Development designed to expose undergraduate students to research through mentoring relationships with faculty.

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Chuck Gill Writer/Editor Phone: 814-863-2713 E-mail: cdg5@psu.edu