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State University of New York at Fredonia alumna Dr. Diane Pennica, '73, who pioneered the development and widespread use of t-PA, the clot-busting drug administered to treat victims of heart attacks and strokes, will return to campus on Friday as the inaugural speaker in the "Science Success Stories Alumni Speaker Series" hosted by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Fredonia College Foundation.
Pennica will present "The 50-Year Journey to the Development of the Clot-Buster Drug t-PA" at 2 p.m. in the Kelly Family Auditorium in the Science Center. Pennica will describe her journey from SUNY Fredonia to the biotech company, Genentech, and her role in developing the clot-dissolving drug used around the world for two previously untreatable diseases: heart attacks and strokes. She will also share stories about the many dedicated scientists and physicians who believed in the potential of this drug and who worked tirelessly to make it a reality.
Prior to her visit on Friday, the documentary film “Stroke: Time is Brain,” which highlights Pennica's work, will be shown on Wednesday at 1 p.m. in the Kelly Family Auditorium. The campus and community are invited to attend.
The 1973 graduate's scientific and life-changing accomplishments are many. In addition to the heart attack and stroke drug, t-PA (Activase), she also isolated for the first time, the gene for human Tumor Necrosis Factor which is a major cause of arthritis in humans, as well as the discovery of a mutant form of p53. The latter resulted in Science recognizing p53 as the Molecule of the Year in 1993 for the critical role it plays in helping to suppress cancer. She has over 100 peer-reviewed publications and 41 issued patents.
Pennica has received a variety accolades, including being named by Science Digest as one of the scientists involved in the top 100 innovations, having her name added to the State University of New York Alumni Honor Roll, named the 1989 Inventor of the Year by the Intellectual Property Owners Foundation, given the Distinguished Achievement President's Award from the University of Rhode Island, received the Fredonia Alumni Association’s Outstanding Achievement Award in 1986, was Fredonia’s Commencement keynote speaker in 1988, was the keynote speaker at the SUNY Undergraduate Research Conference West that Fredonia hosted in 2017 and has been the recipient of many national awards.