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, Foothill Science Learning Institute Advisory Board (2011–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, 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