Dr. Charles N. Bertolami, the Herman Robert Fox Dean of the New York University College of Dentistry, has announced the appointment of Dr. Nicola C. Partridge as the new Chair of the Department of Basic Science & Craniofacial Biology. Dr. Partridge will formally assume her responsibilities effective September 1, 2009.
Dr. Partridge’s appointment comes after an intensive search, during which Dr. Robert Boylan, Associate Professor of Basic Science & Craniofacial Biology, served as interim chair of the department. Dr. Partridge succeeds Dr. Dianne Rekow, who was recently appointed Provost of the newly formed Polytechnic Institute of NYU.
Dr. Partridge is a national and international authority in the area of molecular endocrinology and an expert in bone and mineral research. Since 2000, she has served as Professor and Chair of the Department of Physiology & Biophysics at the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School.
Dr. Partridge’s special expertise is in the role of parathyroid hormone action in bone and mineralized tissue. She also has expertise investigating pulsed electromagnetic fields that stimulate bone formation. This work is aimed at developing new signals for non-healing fractures and other improvements in orthopedic therapies.
“This is an exciting appointment,” said Dean Bertolami. “In recent years, the NYU College of Dentistry has assembled a critical mass of bone researchers in a variety of departments. Our goal has been to attract a strong leader who could galvanize and energize this emerging research ensemble and who could develop synergies both within this community and beyond. Dr. Partridge, a senior bone researcher, is the ideal person to lead this group. We are absolutely delighted that she is joining us.” One of Dr. Partridge’s goals at NYUCD will be to recruit additional basic science faculty for research and teaching, particularly in the area of bone biology.
A native of Australia, Dr. Partridge graduated with honors from the University of Western Australia, where she went on to earn a PhD for her thesis entitled “Development of Glucokinase in the Neonatal Rat.” Prior to her tenure at UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, she served as professor of Pharmacological and Physiological Science and Orthopedic Surgery and Director of the Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Training Program at Saint Louis University.
For over 20 years, her research has been consistently funded by the NIH, NASA, and the Arthritis Foundation, among other agencies and organizations. The author or coauthor of 175 scientific articles, books, book chapters, and abstracts in her field, Dr. Partridge is Past President of the Association of Chairs of Departments of Physiology and has chaired or co-chaired numerous national and international scientific committees, including the ASBMR (American Society for Bone and Mineral Research Annual Meeting), the FASEB (Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology) Consensus Conference on the Physician-Scientist, the FASEB Science Policy Committee and the Women in Bone and Mineral Research Committee of ASBMR. She was recently appointed a member of the Scientific Program Committee of the Davos 2010 Osteobiology Meeting.