Rate My Professor Sarah Tishkoff

Sarah Tishkoff is the David and Lyn Silfen University Professor in Genetics and Biology at the University of Pennsylvania, with appointments in the Perelman School of Medicine and the School of Arts and Sciences. She also serves as Director of the Penn Center for Global Genomics & Health Equity. Tishkoff earned a B.S. in genetics and a B.A. in anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley in 1989, an M.Phil. in human genetics from Yale University in 1992, and a Ph.D. in genetics from Yale University in 1996.

Her research examines genomic and phenotypic variation in ethnically diverse African populations, combining fieldwork, laboratory analysis, and computational methods to investigate African population history, the genetic basis of anthropometric, cardiovascular, metabolic, and immune-related traits, and human adaptations to diverse environments and diets. She advocates for greater inclusion of global populations in human genetics and genomics research. Tishkoff is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She has received an NIH Pioneer Award, a David and Lucile Packard Career Award, a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award, the ASHG Curt Stern Award, the Wilbur Cross Medal from Yale University, the Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Sciences, and a Penn Integrates Knowledge endowed chair. She has served as President of the American Society of Human Genetics and holds positions on editorial boards and scientific advisory boards.