Newswise — NEW YORK (May 4, 2011) -- Weill Cornell Medical College Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and of Medicine Dr. Carl Nathan was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) for his excellence in scientific research. Membership in the NAS is one of the highest honors given to a scientist in the United States. Dr. Nathan, chairman of the department of microbiology and immunology, the R.A. Rees Pritchett Professor of Microbiology, and the director of the Abby and Howard P. Milstein Program in Chemical Biology and Infectious Diseases at Weill Cornell Medical College, will be inducted into the Academy next April during its 149th annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
This year, Dr. Nathan has been elected along with 71 others. There are currently just over 2,000 active NAS members. More than 180 living Academy members have won Nobel Prizes.
One of today's pre-eminent immunologists, Dr. Nathan studies host-pathogen interactions along with an interdisciplinary team that seeks to bring immunology, microbiology, biochemistry, structural biology and chemical biology to bear on tuberculosis. Dr. Nathan received a medical degree from Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, Mass. He joined the Weill Cornell faculty in 1985 and was elected to the Institute of Medicine, another branch of the National Academies, in 1998.
"Dr. Nathan's pioneering work in immunology, microbiology, infectious disease and global health has long been a source of pride for Weill Cornell," says Dr. Antonio M. Gotto Jr., the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College. "We are extremely proud that Dr. Nathan has been recognized with this honor."
"Each one of Dr. Nathan's many unique research contributions has significantly deepened our understanding of the immune system and its interaction with pathogens. In particular, his investigations into the mechanisms of tuberculosis have the potential to overcome the problem of antibiotic drug resistance and transform the way the disease is treated," says Dr. David P. Hajjar, the Frank H.T. Rhodes Distinguished Professor of Cardiovascular Biology and Genetics and dean of the Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences.
Tuberculosis is a major cause of death around the world, with as many as one-third of the world's population infected with the bacterium, among whom about 9.4 million develop the disease each year and 1.7 million succumb, mainly in developing countries.
"This honor belongs to all of us and to those I've been so privileged to work with in years past," says Dr. Nathan, acknowledging his current and former labmates and collaborators, as well as the support of Weill Cornell's leadership.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit honorific society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furthering of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Established in 1863, the National Academy of Sciences has served to "investigate, examine, experiment and report upon any subject of science or art" whenever called upon to do so by any department of the government. For more information, or for the full list of newly elected members, visit www.nasonline.org/site/PageServer.
Weill Cornell Medical College Weill Cornell Medical College, Cornell University's medical school located in New York City, is committed to excellence in research, teaching, patient care and the advancement of the art and science of medicine, locally, nationally and globally. Physicians and scientists of Weill Cornell Medical College are engaged in cutting-edge research from bench to bedside, aimed at unlocking mysteries of the human body in health and sickness and toward developing new treatments and prevention strategies. In its commitment to global health and education, Weill Cornell has a strong presence in places such as Qatar, Tanzania, Haiti, Brazil, Austria and Turkey. Through the historic Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar, the Medical College is the first in the U.S. to offer its M.D. degree overseas. Weill Cornell is the birthplace of many medical advances -- including the development of the Pap test for cervical cancer, the synthesis of penicillin, the first successful embryo-biopsy pregnancy and birth in the U.S., the first clinical trial of gene therapy for Parkinson's disease, and most recently, the world's first successful use of deep brain stimulation to treat a minimally conscious brain-injured patient. Weill Cornell Medical College is affiliated with NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, where its faculty provides comprehensive patient care at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. The Medical College is also affiliated with the Methodist Hospital in Houston, making Weill Cornell one of only two medical colleges in the country affiliated with two U.S.News & World Report Honor Roll hospitals. For more information, visit weill.cornell.edu.
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