Whitehead Member Richard Young elected to National Academy of Sciences

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. —The National Academy of Sciences announced today that Whitehead Institute’s Richard Young is among 84 new Academy members elected in recognition of distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

Young’s election was held during the 149th annual meeting of the Academy. Election to membership in the Academy is considered among the highest honors that can be accorded a U.S. scientist or engineer. Those elected today bring the total number of active members to just over 2,150.

A pioneer in mapping the circuitry that controls the differentiation, development, and function of multiple cell types, including embryonic stem cells, Young completed his PhD at Yale University and joined Whitehead Institute in 1984. In 2006, Scientific American recognized him as one of the top 50 leaders in science, technology and business. He has been the recipient of a Burroughs Wellcome Scholarship, the Chiron Corporation Biotechnology Research Award, and Yale’s Wilbur Cross Medal. Young has served as an advisor to Science magazine, the National Institutes of Health, and the World Health Organization.

With his election, Young becomes the ninth Whitehead Member to hold membership in the National Academy of Sciences. The others are David Bartel, Gerald Fink, Rudolf Jaenisch, Susan Lindquist, Harvey Lodish, Terry Orr-Weaver, David Page, and Robert Weinberg.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private organization of scientists and engineers dedicated to the furtherance of science and its use for the general welfare. It was established in 1863 by a congressional act of incorporation, signed by Abraham Lincoln, which calls on the Academy to act as an official adviser to the federal government, upon request, in any matter of science or technology.