Feb. 6, 2024 — Kenneth I. Berns, M.D., Ph.D., a giant in gene therapy research and a former University of Florida College of Medicine leader, passed away Jan. 26 at age 85.

Over three stints at UF spanning the course of four decades and including roles such as vice president for health affairs and dean of the College of Medicine, Berns left an enduring impact on the community and the larger field of medicine. He is widely regarded as a pioneer of adeno-associated virus, or AAV, and was renowned as one of the nation’s most distinguished scientists and physicians. He was beloved by his colleagues and recognized by his students as an exceptional teacher and mentor.

“It is impossible to describe his remarkable vision and foresight as far as AAV is concerned,” said Arun Srivastava, Ph.D., the George H. Kitzman Professor of Genetics in the department of pediatrics and the department of molecular genetics & microbiology, who was recruited to UF by Berns more than 44 years ago. “He realized AAV’s significance when no one else did or could. Fast forward 55 years, and AAV vectors have now cured 10 human diseases — the first disease was cured here at UF — there are now five FDA-approved AAV drugs and AAV is now a multibillion-dollar industry. There would be no AAV vector without Dr. Berns. To wit, UF was recently recognized as the No. 1 institution in the world for gene therapy with AAV vectors. He made UF the AAV powerhouse it is today.”

Born in Cleveland in 1938, Berns attended Harvard University during his undergraduate years and obtained his M.D. and Ph.D. degrees from The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Prior to becoming a faculty member in the department of microbiology at his graduate school alma mater, he spent time at the National Institutes of Health in the U.S. Public Health Service, where he was first intrigued by AAV.

Berns joined the UF College of Medicine in 1976 as chair of the department of molecular genetics & microbiology — the youngest chair at the college at that time. He earned international acclaim for his work with AAV for its use as a vector in gene therapy, and the Powell Gene Therapy Center was established in his laboratory at UF.

“Over the course of his career, Ken Berns had a profound impact on generations of basic and clinician scientists,” said Barry Byrne, M.D., Ph.D., a longtime faculty member and director of the Powell Gene Therapy Center. “He was insightful, kind and deeply committed to high-quality science. His lifelong efforts have significantly impacted the future of medicine.”

After spending eight years as a department chair at UF, Berns moved to the Weill Cornell Medical College in 1984 to chair its department of microbiology but was recruited back to Gainesville in 1998 as the Folke H. Peterson Professor and dean of the College of Medicine and later named UF’s vice president for health affairs.

During his five years as dean, he saw the college experience a substantial increase in external research funding and was intimately involved in the establishment of the UF Health Proton Therapy Institute on the Jacksonville campus and the UF Genetics Institute on the Gainesville campus. Among his appointments, he named directors for the Genetics Institute, the UF Institute on Aging, the UF Health Cancer Center and the Evelyn F. and William L. McKnight Brain Institute.

Berns returned to New York for a stint as president of the Mount Sinai Medical Center in 2002 but rejoined UF as the director of the UF Genetics Institute in 2003. He retired in 2012, remaining with the department of molecular genetics & microbiology as a distinguished professor emeritus for many years.

“When I think about Ken Berns, I think his greatest strength was his ability to relate to people,” said Henry Baker, Ph.D., a professor emeritus and former chair of the department of molecular genetics & microbiology, who served as the associate director of the UF Genetics Institute during Berns’ tenure as director. “Ken made everyone feel important and respected. In his capacity as a scientist, he had the ability to identify and work on fundamental problems in basic science. As an administrator, before making difficult decisions he would take counsel from many quarters and then he would decisively decide. Ken had the ability to bring out the best in people.”

Berns’ contributions to the field of medicine were historic. His laboratory was the first to identify aspects of the AAV life cycle that are now leveraged in the use of AAV as a gene therapy vector, and his discoveries have been transformational in the field of molecular medicine. He shared his expertise with several national organizations, serving as president of the American Society for Virology in 1988 and president of the American Society for Microbiology in 1996. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, the National Academy of Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

“Dr. Berns was an awesome mentor,” Srivastava said. “I learned everything about AAV from him. He was, without a doubt, a proven leader in every sense of the word. To say he was a brilliant scientist would be putting it mildly.”

He is survived by his wife, Laura Berns, Ph.D., and their two children, Jonathan and Debbie. The Berns family has given back to UF in several ways over the years, creating the Kenneth and Laura Berns Genetics Institute Endowment in 2006 to support teaching, research and programs that enhance the institute’s mission to advance genetics for the benefit of patients and establishing the Ken and Laura Berns Award for Excellence in Genetics in 2015 to recognize graduate students for significant contributions in genetics and genomics.

Upon news of Berns’ passing, the College of Medicine created the Ken Berns Graduate Student Opportunity Fund in his memory to support graduate student fellowships and travel awards. Visit the giving webpage for more information.