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Janice Egeland remembered for research excellence

Penn State College of Medicine mourns the loss of Janice Egeland, PhD, who passed away on July 4, 2023. She joined the College of Medicine as a founding faculty member in 1967 and was the College of Medicine’s first female faculty member.

Egeland authored and collaborated on 55 publications throughout her career. She studied genetic conditions among the Amish and the genetics of major affective disorders. In 1972, she became the first College of Medicine faculty member to publish a book – a 605-page Amish Mennonite Genealogy. She was awarded tenure in 1973 and went on to identify a potential molecular pathway underlying bipolar 1 disorder.

In addition to her groundbreaking work related to the genetics of mental illness, Egeland was project director for a grant received by founding dean George Harrell, MD, which sought to examine how the College of Medicine and Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center would address the health needs of the Hershey community.

Egeland is remembered by the College of Medicine research community for her commitment and dedication to medical research and the passion with which she engaged communities – such as the Amish of central Pennsylvania – in research.

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