Dr. Nathan Inducted into National Academy of Sciences

Weill Cornell’s Dr. Carl Nathan, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology and of Medicine, was elected a member of the National Academy of Sciences for his excellence in scientific research. Membership in the NAS is one of the highest honors given to scientists in the United States, with 180 Nobel Prize winners among it’s over 2,000 active members.  A world-renowned leader in immunology, Dr. Nathan studies host-pathogen interactions along with an interdisciplinary team seeking to bring immunology, microbiology biochemistry, structural biology, and chemical biology to bear on tuberculosis. Tuberculosis remains a major cause of death around the world, killing over 1.7 million people each year and causing suffering and disability to millions more, mainly in developing countries. Dr. Nathan’s innovative research is achieving progress in fighting antibiotic drug resistance and contributes greatly to improving treatment methods. 

“Dr. Nathan’s pioneering work in immunology, microbiology, infectious disease and global health has long been a source of pride for Weill Cornell,” says Dr. Antonio M. Gotto Jr., the Stephen and Suzanne Weiss Dean of Weill Cornell Medical College. 

Dr. Nathan, chairman of the department of microbiology and immunology, the R.A Rees Pritchett Professor of Microbiology, and the director of the Abby and Howard P. Milstein Program in Chemical Biology and Infectious Disease, will be inducted into the Academy next April during its 149th annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Carl Nathan's Recent Publications

Antibiotics at the crossroads. Nature 431: 899-902, 2004

Neutrophils and immunity: Challenges and opportunities. Nature Reviews Immunology 6: 173-182, 2006

Inhibitors selective of mycobacterial versus human proteasomes. Nature; 461:621-6, 2009

Aligning pharmaceutical innovation with medical need. Nature Medicine 13: 304-308, 2007

Taming tuberculosis: A challenge for science and society. Cell Host and Microbe 5: 220-4, 2009

Non-resolving inflammation. Cell; 140: 871-882, 2010

Activity-based metabolomic profiling of enzymatic function: Identification of Rv1248c as a mycobacterial 2-hydroxy-3-oxoadipate synthase. Chemistry and Biology 17:323-332, 2010

Genome-wide screen for Mycobacterium tuberculosis genes that regulate host immunity. PLoS ONE. In Press, 2010.

Virulence of Mycobacterium tuberculosis depends on lipoamide dehydrogenase, a member of three multi-enzyme complexes. Cell Host and Microbe. In press, 2010.