Bruce Alberts

Bruce Alberts

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    • Redefining Science Education, and Why Trust Science?
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    • SERP: Strategic Education Research Partnership
    • Empowering Great Teachers
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    • Indonesian Science Fund and Support for Young Indonesian Scientists
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Curriculum Vitae

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Education and Positions Held

1956-1960 Undergraduate (A.B. 1960), Biochemical Sciences, summa cum laude, Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1960-1965 Predoctoral Fellow in Biophysics (Ph.D. 1965), National Science Foundation, in the laboratory of Professor Paul Doty, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
1965-1966 Postdoctoral Fellow, National Science Foundation, in the laboratories of Professors Alfred Tissieres and Richard Epstein, Institut de Biologie Moleculaire, Geneva, Switzerland.
1966-1971 Assistant Professor, Department of Chemistry, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey.
1971-1973 Associate Professor, Department of Biochemical Sciences, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey.
1973-1976 Damon Pfeiffer Professor of Life Sciences, Department of Biochemical Sciences, Princeton University (1973-74 Acting Chairman, 1974-75 Associate Chairman).
1976 On sabbatical leave from Princeton, in the laboratory of Professor Lewis Wolpert, Middlesex Hospital Medical School, London, England (January through August).
1976-1993 Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, University of California, San Francisco (Vice Chair 1976-1981; 1981-82 Acting Chair; Department Chair 1985-1990).
1993-2005 President, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C.
2000-2009 Co-chair, InterAcademy Council, Amsterdam.
2007-2008 President, American Society for Cell Biology
2008-2013 Editor-in-Chief, Science magazine, Washington, D.C.
2009-2011 United States Science Envoy
2005- Chancellor’s Leadership Chair in Biochemistry & Biophysics for Science & Education. University of California, San Francisco (Emeritus since 2009).


Honors and Awards

  • Phi Beta Kappa, Harvard College (1960)
  • Summa cum laude in Biochemical Sciences, Harvard College (1960)
  • Eli Lilly Award in Biological Chemistry, American Chemical Society (1972)
  • U.S. Steel Foundation Award in Molecular Biology, National Academy of Sciences (1975)
  • Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (elected 1978)
  • American Cancer Society Lifetime Research Professorship (awarded 1980)
  • Member, National Academy of Sciences (elected 1981)
  • Faculty Research Lecturer, University of California, San Francisco (1985)
  • Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (1987)
  • Baxter Award for Distinguished Research in the Biomedical Sciences, Association of American Medical Colleges (1992)
  • President-elect, American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (1992)
  • Outstanding Volunteer Coordinator, California School Volunteer Partnership (1993)
  • Associate Member, European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) (elected 1993)
  • Sixth Annual Donald Ware Waddell Award (1993)
  • Foreign Member, The Royal Society, London (elected 1993)
  • Distinguished Service Award, National Association of Biology Teachers (NABT) (1994)
  • University of California, San Francisco Medal (1994)
  • Foreign Member, Academia Europaea (elected 1994)
  • American Philosophical Society (elected 1994)
  • Member, European Academy of Arts & Sciences (elected 1995)
  • Honorary Fellow, California Academy of Sciences (elected 1995)
  • Gairdner Foundation International Award (1995)
  • Honorary Doctor of Science, Michigan State University (1996)
  • Honorary Doctor of Science, University of Massachusetts (1996)
  • Honorary Doctor of Science, Princeton University (1997)
  • Outstanding Educator Award, Exploratorium in San Francisco (1997)
  • Honorary Degree, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, City University of New York (1998)
  • Honorary Doctor of Science, Emory University (1998)
  • Honorary Doctor of Science, Columbia University (1998)
  • Honorary Fellow, St. Edmund’s College, Cambridge (elected 1999)
  • Honorary Doctor of Science, Yale University (1999)
  • Honorary Doctor of Science, State University of New York at Stony Brook (1999)
  • Foreign Fellow, The National Academy of Sciences, India (elected 1999)
  • Leadership in Education Award, The Keystone Center (2000)
  • The Jawaharlal Nehru Birth Centenary Medal of the Indian National Science Academy (awarded 2000)
  • The Ray Wu Society for Life Sciences Award (2001)
  • Honorary Degree, Clark University (2001)
  • Honorary Doctor of Science, University of Arizona (2001)
  • Honorary Doctor of Science, Bates College (2001)
  • Associate Fellow, Third World Academy of Sciences (elected 2002)
  • Member, National Academy of Education (elected 2003)
  • Foreign Member, Russian Academy of Sciences (elected 2003)
  • Honorary Degree, Case Western Reserve University (2003)
  • Foreign Fellow, Indian National Science Academy (elected 2004)
  • Presidential Achievement Award 2004, Association of American Geographers
  • Honorary Member, National Academy of Sciences-Republic of Korea (elected 2004 – reappointed in 2008 through 2012)
  • Honorary Member, Mongolian Academy of Sciences (elected 2004)
  • National Center for Science Education Friend of Darwin Award (2004)
  • Honorary Degree, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Watson School of Biological Sciences (2005)
  • Honorary Doctor of Philosophy, Tel Aviv University (2005)
  • Viktor Hamburger Outstanding Educator Prize, American Society for Developmental Biology (2005)
  • Distinguished Honoree of the National Academy of Engineering (2005)
  • Commander of the Order of the British Empire (2005)
  • Member, New York Academy of Sciences (elected 2006)
  • Lawrence Hall of Science Award for Excellence in Science Education (2006)
  • Honorary member, Romanian Academy (elected 2006)
  • Honorary Degree, Rockefeller University (2006)
  • Honorary Degree, Beloit College (2007)
  • Honorary Doctor of Science, University of Toronto (2007)
  • American Educational Research Association Public Service Award (2008)
  • American Institute of Biological Sciences Education Award (2009)
  • National Science Foundation Vannevar Bush Award (2010)
  • DiNA Award, Science Festival Bay Bio (2011)
  • Howard K. Schachman Public Service Award, American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (ASBMB) (2013)
  • Abelson Prize, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) (2014)
  • Harvard Gradual School of Arts & Sciences (GSAS), Harvard University, Centennial Medal (2014). Citation.
  • Honorary Doctor of Science, Syracuse University (2014)
  • Honorary Fellow, United Kingdom Academy of Medical Sciences (2014)
  • U.S. National Medal of Science (2014)
  • Dr. M. S. Swaminathan Award for Environment Protection, Madras, India (2015)
  • Academy Fellow, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) (2016)
  • Honorary Member, Chilean Academy Sciences (2016)
  • Inaugural Fellow, American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) (2016)
  • Lasker-Koshland Special Achievement Award in Medical Science (2016)
  • Doctor Honoris Causa, The National University of Cordoba, Argentina (2016)
  • Research!America John Edward Porter Legacy Award (2020)
  • Doctor Honoris Causa, Hasanuddin University, Makassar, Indonesia (2022)
  • 2022 TWAS Medal Lecture, (World Academy of Sciences)
  • Fellows Medal, California Academy of Sciences (2022)
  • Sigma Xi Gold Key Award (2022)

Current Advisory Boards (All non-profit institutions)

  • Member, Board of Directors, Strategic Education Research Partnership (SERP) (Chair 2005-2024)
  • Chair, Scientific Advisory Board, Scleroderma Research Foundation (1992-present)
  • Chair, Board of Directors, William J. Rutter Foundation (2012-present; member since 1999)
  • Member, Board of Directors and Council, Science and Technology in Society Forum, Kyoto, Japan (2005-present)
  • Member, UCSF Administrative Advisory Board, Science & Health Education
    Partnership (SEP) (2005-present)
  • Member, Advisory Board, Life Sciences Research Foundation (2006-present)
  • Member, InterAcademy Panel (IAP) Science Education Program (SEP) International Advisory Committee (2014-present)

Focus of Current Work

  • Why Trust Science?
  • Concrete steps to diversify the scientific workforce
  • Improving support for young biomedical scientists

Previous Advisory Boards

Major commitments

  • Chair, Molecular Cytology Study Section of the National Institutes of Health (1984-1986); (member 1982-1986)
  • Chair, National Research Council Committee on Mapping and Sequencing the Human Genome (1986-1988)
  • Chair, Commission on Life Sciences of the National Research Council, National Academy of Sciences (1988-1993)
  • Co-chair, Science and Strategy Committee for the System Review Panel, Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) (1997-1998)
  • Chair, Center for Scientific Review Panel on Scientific Boundaries, National Institutes of Health (1998-2004)
  • Co-Chair, InterAcademy Council (2000-2009; institution in Amsterdam governed by the presidents of 15 science academies from around the world; later renamed as the InterAcademy Partnership for Policy, headquartered in Trieste)
  • Trustee, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (2005-2021)
  • Member, Yidan Education Prize Judging Committee (2016-2023)

Other Advisory Boards

  • Trustee, Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (1972-1975)
  • Editorial Board, Journal of Biological Chemistry (1976-1982)
  • Member, Board of Scientific Advisors, Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund for Medical Research (1978-1985)
  • Member, Corporation Visiting Committee for the Department of Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (1978-1998)
  • Member, Advisory Council for the Departments of Biochemical Sciences and Molecular Biology, Princeton University (1979-1985)
  • Chairman, Visiting Committee for the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Harvard College (1983-1986)
  • Member, Visiting Committee of the Department of Embryology, Carnegie Institution of Washington (1983-1989)
  • Associate Editor, Annual Reviews of Cell Biology (1984-1993)
  • Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Markey Foundation (1984-1997)
  • Member, Program Advisory Committee for the NIH Human Genome Project (1988-1991)
  • Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle (1988-1996)
  • Member, Board of Directors, Genentech Foundation for Biomedical Sciences (1989-2009)
  • Member, Advisory Board of the National Science Resources Center, National Academy of Sciences and Smithsonian Institution (1990-1993)
  • Member, Council of Scientific Advisors, Woods Hole Marine Biological Laboratory (1996-2001)
  • Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation (1996-2008)
  • Member, Board of Trustees, Donald Danforth Plant Science Center (1998-2008)
  • Member, ex officio, U.S. Department of Education National Commission on Mathematics and Science Teaching for the 21st Century (“Glenn Commission”) (1999-2000)
  • Member, Board of Directors, Teach for America (1999-2003)
  • Member, Advisory Board, Merck Institute for Science Education (1999-2012)
  • Member, Board of Trustees, Carnegie Corporation of New York (2000-2008)
  • Member, Harvard University Board of Overseers (2001-2007)
  • Member, Visiting Committee, Harvard Graduate School of Education (2001-2007)
  • Co-Chair, NIH Blue Ribbon Panel on Conflict of Interest Policies, A Working Group of the Advisory Committee to the Director, National Institutes of Health (2004)
  • Member, Jury, Purkwa Science Education Prize (2005-2010)
  • Member, Advisory Board, MIT OpenCourseWare (2005-2015)
  • Member, Board of Directors, Dan David Prize (2005-2008)
  • Member, Exploratorium Advisory Council (2005-2010)
  • Member, Executive Committee, and Director, Science and Innovation, UCSF Global Health Sciences (2005-2010)
  • Chair, Science Service Blue Ribbon Commission (2006)
  • Member, the Advisory Board, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (2006-2012)
  • Member, Board of Directors, California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) (2006-2016)
  • Member, National Institutes of Health Advisory Committee to the Director Working Group on Peer Review (2007-2008)
  • Co-chair, Basic Science, UCSF Faculty Bridge Funding Committee (2007- 2009)
  • Member, Carnegie-IAS Commission on Mathematics and Science Education: The Opportunity Equation Report; Co-chair of Building Teacher Capacity Working Group (2007-2009)
  • Member, Board of Trustees, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt (2008-2014)
  • Member, National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on Women in the Academy (2009-2010)
  • Member, Burroughs Wellcome Fund Board (2009-2019)
  • Member, The Cell: An Image Library Advisory Board (2011)
  • Reviewer, NIH Director’s New Innovator Awards (2011-2014)
  • Member, HHMI’s Science Education Advisory Board (SEAB) (2011- 2015)
  • Member, Foothill Science Learning Institute Advisory Board (2011–2024)
  • Member, California Science Expert Panel (SEP) for the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) (2013- 2014)
  • Member, Muslim-Science.com’s Task Force on Teaching of Science in the Muslim World (2014-2015)
  • Chair, Inaugural Selection Committee, United States National Academy of Sciences Award for Scientific Discovery (2015)
  • Member, Board of Directors, National Math and Science Initiative, Inc. (NMSI) (2007-2019)
  • Member, Advisory Committee, California Science and Technology Policy Fellowships (2009-2015)
  • Member, Science Initiative Group (SIG) of the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS) (2010- 2015)
  • Member, GYA Global Young Academy Advisory Board (2010-2015)
  • Member, International Advisory Board, Faculty of 1000 (2011-2017)
  • Member, Board of Trustees, The Future University, Sudan (2013-2017)
  • Chair, Advisory Board, Cultures, publication of American Society for Microbiology   (ASM) International (2013- 2017)
  • President, International Committee, La main à la pâte Foundation (2014-2012)
  • Member, Advisory Board, Africa Science Leadership Program (ASLP) (2015-2018)
  • Member, Advisory Board, University of California, San Francisco Motivating INformed Decisions (MIND) Program (2015-2018)
  • Member, Committee on Human Rights of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, and Institute of Medicine (2015-2020)
  • Member, Scientific Steering Board, Indonesian Science Fund (ISF) (2016-2018)
  • Member, Advisory Board, Simons Foundation (2016-2019)
  • Member, Evaluation Panel, 100&Change, MacArthur Foundation (2016)
  • Member, Working Group on Scientific Partnerships with Resource-Limited Countries, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2019-2021)
  • Member, Board of Directors, Teacher Research Initiative (2019-2021)
  • Member, Board of Trustees, California Academy of Sciences (2009-2017)
  • Member, Advisory Committee, National Science Foundation Directorate for Education and Human Resources (NSF EHR) (2012-2018)
  • Member, Board of Directors, Biological Sciences Curriculum Study (BSCS) (2014 – 2019)
  • Member, External Advisory Committee, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center’s Endowed Scholars (1999-2019)
  • Member, Scientific Advisory Board, Allen Institute for Cell Science (2015-2022)
  • Member, Editorial Board, ASCB journal, Cell Biology Education-Life Sciences Education (CBE-LSE) (2001-2023)
  • Chair, Board of Directors, California Foundation for Molecular Biology (2012-2023)

Professional Societies 

  • American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
  • American Society for Cell Biology
  • American Society for Microbiology
  • Sigma Xi
  • American Association for Advancement of Science

Television

  • Charlie Rose Show (April 7, 2008) “Charlie Rose Science Series: The Imperative Science”
  • Charlie Rose Show (July 15, 2010) “Creativity”
Last updated: May 9, 2025 at 14:44 pm

Current Work

Why Trust Science?

Concrete steps to diversify the scientific workforce

Improving support for young biomedical scientists

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