Broad Institute founding director Eric S. Lander receives the 2015 Abelson Prize
By Broad Communications
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has announced Eric S. Lander, founding director of the Broad Institute, is the recipient of the 2015 Philip Hauge Abelson Prize. According to a AAAS press release, Lander is being honored “for advancing science in society through his ‘extraordinary contributions to science,’ and for ‘his ability to explain science to the public and students,’ as well as ‘his work bringing science to bear in serving the public.’”
The award will be presented February 12th during the 182nd AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
“It’s an honor to receive the Abelson Prize,” Lander said. “It’s collaboration that really defines the advancement of science today. All the projects I’ve been involved in — The Human Genome Project, the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, early work on DNA fingerprinting and so much else — have all been team efforts.”
In addition to leading the Broad Institute, Lander is a professor of systems biology at Harvard Medical School, and a professor of biology at MIT. He is co-chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST), appointed in 2008 by President Barack Obama. PCAST provides direct advice to the President on matters of science and technology and during Lander’s tenure has prepared 27 advisory reports on topics from antibiotic resistance and how best to prepare for pandemics, to advanced manufacturing and energy policy.
“Beyond his seminal scientific contributions to the Human Genome Project and to understanding the genetic basis of human disease, Eric Lander has been a passionate champion for science, an exceptional institution builder, and a wise voice in science policy—this last perhaps most notably in his role for the past seven years as co-chair of President Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology,” said John P. Holdren, assistant to the President for Science and Technology and director, White House Office of Science and Technology. “I congratulate him on his well-deserved receipt of the Abelson Prize.”
In a nomination letter, Duke University research professor Robert Cook-Deegan, a visiting professor at Arizona State University, noted that “Dr. Lander played a key role in the Human Genome Project (HGP) from its earliest stages, from his fundamental work on methods to create genetic and physical maps to the successful completion of a finished sequence, for which he directed the flagship center that produced one-third of the project’s data.”
“Following the successful completion of the HGP,” Cook-Deegan continued, “Lander sought to create a new kind of research institution where the collaborative work needed to fulfill the promise of genomic medicine could flourish… The Broad Institute includes more than 2,000 scientists who take on ambitious scientific challenges that could not be addressed by individual laboratories… It is recognized as a model for interdisciplinary science and cross-institutional collaboration, a template for new institutions in several U.S. cities as well as other countries such as Canada, Sweden, and Israel.”
In the laboratory, Lander and his colleagues have been responsible for some of most important discoveries in genomic medicine, such as mapping and sequencing of the human, mouse, and other genomes; understanding the functional elements encoded in genomes through comparative analysis; understanding the genetic variation in the human population and its relationship to disease susceptibility; understanding the distinctive cellular signatures of diseases and of response to drugs; understanding gene regulation; and understanding the mutations underlying cancer.
The Abelson Prize was inspired by the late Philip Hauge Abelson, long-time senior advisor to AAAS and editor of Science. Dr. Abelson, who served as president of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, died 1 August 2004, following more than 60 years of service to science and society. The award is given annually to either a public servant, in recognition of sustained exceptional contributions to advancing science, or to a scientist whose career has been distinguished both for scientific achievement and for other notable services to the scientific community. Established in 1985 by the AAAS Board of Directors, the award consists of a commemorative medallion and an honorarium of $5,000.
