A director has been appointed to lead Magee-Womens Research Institute (MWRI), Erie.

Erie resident Linda Paterniti will fill the position.

Paterniti started her career in pharmacy 40 years ago at UPMC Hamot and worked her way up to become director of pharmacy in 2001. Most recently, she spent three years as director of clinical services at The Regional Cancer Center in Erie. She worked as director of pharmacy there for 13 years beforehand.

“We’re very pleased Linda is joining our team to bring locally-focused clinical medical research trials to the region, improving the health of generations of women while creating a new sector in Erie’s economy,” said Halina Zyczynski, M.D., a leading researcher and physician at MWRI in Pittsburgh and UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital, and medical director of Magee-Womens Specialty Services at UPMC Hamot.

“I’m excited to be part of the cutting-edge research that is transforming women’s lives, and that work, those trials, will now take place right here in Erie," said Paterniti.

The Erie Community Foundation in September announced a $6 million grant to expand Pittsburgh-based MWRI to Erie. It will be used to establish a new biomedical commercialization and translational research lab at Penn State Behrend’s Knowledge Park.