MENUUniversity of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center members elected to the National Academy of Sciences
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Two University of Michigan Rogel Cancer Center members are among four U-M professors recently elected to the National Academy of Sciences -- one of the highest distinctions for a scientist or engineer in the United States.
The academy announced Monday the election of 120 members and 26 international members in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.
The newly elected NAS Rogel Cancer Center members are:
Arul Chinnaiyan, investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the S.P. Hicks Endowed Professor of Pathology, American Cancer Society Research Professor, and director, Michigan Center for Translational Pathology, Medical School.
Chinnaiyan is a molecular pathologist and physician at the leading edge of translational cancer research and precision oncology. He and his group have focused on functional genomic and bioinformatic approaches to study cancer for the purposes of understanding tumor biology as well as to discover genetic drivers.
Janet L. Smith, professor of biological chemistry, Department of Biological Chemistry, Medical School, and the Margaret J. Hunter Collegiate Professor, Life Sciences Institute.
Smith's research focuses on understanding biological processes through knowledge of the structures of key protein molecules. She has made major contributions to the understanding of catalysis and regulation in glutamine amidotransferases and phosphoribosyltransferases by solving and interpreting crystal structures of several enzymes of each type.
The newly elected NAS members bring the total number of active members to 2,403 and the total number of international members to 501. International members are nonvoting members of the academy with citizenship outside the United States.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit institution that was established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. It recognizes achievement in science by election to membership, and -- with the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine -- provides science, engineering, and health policy advice to the federal government and other organizations.