National Academy of Medicine honors 12 faculty

Twelve Harvard faculty are among the 85 new members elected to the National Academy of Medicine.

Election to the academy is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.

“This distinguished and diverse class of new members is a truly remarkable set of scholars and leaders whose impressive work has advanced science, improved health, and made the world a better place for everyone,” said academy President Victor J. Dzau on Monday. “Their expertise in science, medicine, health, and policy in the U.S. and around the globe will help our organization address today’s most pressing health challenges and inform the future of health and health care. It is my privilege to welcome these esteemed individuals to the National Academy of Medicine.”

Harvard’s newly elected members include:

Richard S. Blumberg, Jerry S. Trier Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School; and chief, Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Endoscopy, Brigham and Women’s Hospital

For multiple seminal, paradigm-changing contributions to our understanding of mucosal immunology and immune development, having identified mechanistic alterations central to several diseases, including inflammatory bowel disease, autoimmune disorders, and cancer.

Francesca Dominici, Clarence James Gamble Professor of Biostatistics, Population, and Data Science, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; and co-director, Harvard Data Science Initiative

For developing and applying innovative statistical methods to understanding and reducing the impact of air pollution on population health.

Benjamin Levine Ebert, chair of medical oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute; and George P. Canellos M.D. and Jean Y. Canellos Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

For contributions to understanding the genetics and biology of myeloid malignancies, to the characterization of clonal hematopoiesis, and to elucidating the mechanism of action of thalidomide and its analogs.

Evelynn Maxine Hammonds, Barbara Gutmann Rosenkrantz Professor of the History of Science, professor of African and African American studies, and chair, Department of History of Science, Harvard University

For being one of the nation’s most influential historians investigating the relationship of race, science, and medicine, and her work in clarifying the use of the concept of race as it relates to important health disparities.

Robert E. Kingston, chief, Department of Molecular Biology, Massachusetts General Hospital; and professor of genetics, Harvard Medical School

For contributions to understanding the role of nucleosomes in transcriptional regulations.

Keith Douglas Lillemoe, chief of surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital; and W. Gerald Austen Professor, Harvard Medical School

For his work as a surgical leader and educator who has enhanced patient care, surgical quality, and safety.

Xihong Lin, Henry Pickering Walcott Professor and Chair of the Department of Biostatistics, professor of statistics, and coordinating director, Program in Quantitative Genomics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

For contributions to statistics, genetics, epidemiology, and environmental health through influential and ingenious research in statistical methods and applications in whole-genome sequencing association studies, gene environment, integrative analysis, and complex observational studies.

Matthew Langer Meyerson, professor of pathology, Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute

For discovery of EGFR mutations in lung cancer and their ability to predict responsiveness to EGFR inhibitors, thereby helping to establish the current paradigm of precision cancer therapy.

Charles Alexander Nelson III, Richard David Scott Professor of Pediatric Developmental Medicine Research, Boston Children’s Hospital; and professor of pediatrics, neuroscience, and education, Harvard Medical School and Graduate School of Education

For pioneering research on brain development in majority world settings and revealing the powerfully detrimental effects of adversity exposure on brain development in early life.

Stuart L. Schreiber, Morris Loeb Professor of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, Harvard University

For advancing chemical biology and medicine through the discovery of small-molecule probes for signal transduction and gene regulation pathways.

Arlene Sharpe, co-chair and George Fabyan Professor of Comparative Pathology, Department of Microbiology and Immunobiology, Harvard Medical School

For leadership in functional analysis of co-stimulatory and inhibitory pathways regulating T cell activation.

Janey L. Wiggs, Paul Austin Chandler Professor of Ophthalmology, vice chair for clinical research in ophthalmology, Harvard Medical School; associate chief, ophthalmology, Massachusetts Eye and Ear; and associate member, Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard

For research and achievements in the field of ocular genetics, including the discovery of multiple genetic and environmental risk factors for glaucoma, and for developing and implementing genetic testing for inherited eye disease.