American Philosophical Society
Member History

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Residency
International[X]
Class
2. Biological Sciences[X]
1Name:  Dr. Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard
 Institution:  Max Planck Institute
 Year Elected:  1995
 Class:  2. Biological Sciences
 Subdivision:  202. Cellular and Developmental Biology
 Residency:  International
 Living? :   Living
 Birth Date:  1942
   
 
German biologist Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard is a widely acknowledged authority on embryonic limb regeneration, development and induction. She was awarded the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research in 1991 and the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1995, the latter for her work with Eric Wieschaus and Edward B. Lewis on the genetic control of embryonic development. With Wieschaus, she developed a spectacularly successful large-scale mutagenesis project that illuminated the development program of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. At the time of these experiments, molecular biology was mostly based on small-scale experiments that demonstrated principles or examples of possibly general significance. These experiments were not only distinguished by their sheer scale (with the methods available at the time, they involved an enormous workload), but more importantly by their significance for organisms other than fruit flies. It was later found that many of the genes identified here had homologues in other species. These findings have also led to important realizations about evolution, and they greatly increased understanding of the regulation of transcription and cell fate during development. Since 1985 Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard has been Director of the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen, Germany. She received her Ph.D. from Tübingen University in 1973 and also currently leads the university's Genetics Department. In 1986 she received the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, which is the highest honour awarded in German research.
 
2Name:  Dr. Michael Sela
 Institution:  Weizmann Institute of Science
 Year Elected:  1995
 Class:  2. Biological Sciences
 Subdivision:  209. Neurobiology
 Residency:  International
 Living? :   Deceased
 Birth Date:  1924
 Death Date:  May 27, 2022
   
 
One of the world's leading chemical immunologists, Michael Sela is the W. Garfield Weston Professor of Immunology at the Weizmann Institute of Science. During his tenure at the Institute, which began in 1963, he has served as Dean of the Faculty of Biology (1970-73), as President (1975-85) and as Deputy Chair of the Board of Governors (1985-94). Considered a premier ambassador for Israeli science, Dr. Sela has most successfully applied his understanding of proteins and synthetic amino acid polymers to the manipulation of the immune system. He has also been responsible for the design and production of the specific immunogenic molecule "COP 1," which has positive actions in counteracting the autoimmune process in multiple sclerosis. Dr. Sela's scientific contributions have been recognized internationally by major honors and prizes, including the Warburg (1968), Landsteiner (1986) and UNESCO Albert Einstein (1995) Medals, the German Order of Merit and the French Legion d'Honeur. He is a member of the Max-Planck-Society, the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities the American Academy of Arts & Sciences and the National Academies of the U.S., France, Russia, Germany, Vatican, Romania, and Italy, and a recipient of nine honorary doctorates from the USA, Mexico, France and Israel. He received his Ph.D. from the Hebrew University in 1954.
 
Election Year
1995[X]