TAMEST Welcomes Six Texans Elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM)
TAMEST congratulates five new members and one current member on their election to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM).
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) announced the election of 90 regular members and 10 international members during its October annual meeting.
Election to the Academy is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.
The six elected include a current TAMEST member and former Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award recipient, two former TAMEST protégés as well as the first member to be elected from Texas Southern University.
TAMEST will welcome these and other new Texas-based National Academy members at the opening reception of the TAMEST 2025 Annual Conference on February 4, 2025, in Irving, Texas.
Their election brings the current TAMEST membership to 351.
Meet our new NAM members:
Carlos L. Arteaga, M.D. (NAM), Professor and Associate Dean, Oncology Programs, and Director, Simmons Comprehensive Cancer Center, UT Southwestern Medical Center
For discovering the role of TGFbeta in breast cancer progression, and of human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) and PI3K mutations and FGFR1 amplification in drug resistance in breast cancer, laying the foundation for innovative neoadjuvant trials and approval of PI3K inhibitors. He was the first Hispanic American president of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Maria Elena Bottazzi, Ph.D. (NAM),* Professor, Departments of Pediatrics and of Molecular Virology and Microbiology; and Senior Associate Dean and Division Chief, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine
For work as a tropical and emerging disease microbiologist, vaccinologist, global health advocate, and co-creator of a patent-free, open source COVID-19 vaccine technology. She pioneers and leads the advancement of a robust infectious disease vaccine portfolio tackling diseases that affect disproportionally the world’s poorest populations.
*Former TAMEST Protégé, TAMEST National Hazards Summit Program Committee Member, TAMEST 2022 Annual Conference Speaker
Robert D. Bullard, Ph.D. (NAM)*, Distinguished Professor and Director, Urban Planning and Environmental Policy, Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice, Texas Southern University
For extraordinary vision, groundbreaking research, and sustained leadership to identify and end injustices affecting vulnerable people and places disproportionately harmed by pollution and climate change. Known as “the father of environmental justice,” he has long led the charge to dismantle systems and structures that create and maintain inequality.
*TAMEST Natural Hazard Summit Speaker and first TAMEST member elected from Texas Southern University
Teresa A. Davis, Ph.D. (NAM), Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Children’s Nutrition Research Center, Baylor College of Medicine
For international expertise on the nutritional regulation of growth, having identified fundamental mechanisms by which nutrients regulate muscle protein synthesis and growth, with direct implications for improving lean growth and health of infants. She is a global leader on protein and amino acid requirements.
David J. Mangelsdorf, Ph.D. (NAM, NAS),* Professor and Chair, Department of Pharmacology, and Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, UT Southwestern Medical Center
For landmark discoveries of oxysterol (LXRs) and bile acid (FXR) nuclear receptors that revealed the sensing mechanisms that govern reverse cholesterol transport and bile acid synthesis. He co-discovered the key roles of the endocrine hormones FGF21 and FGF15/19 in regulating lipid and energy metabolism, and bile acid homeostasis, respectively.
*Member of the National Academy of Sciences, Former TAMEST Board Member, Former Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award Subcommittee Chair, TAMEST 2007 Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Medicine Recipient, Former TAMEST Protégé
Funda Meric-Bernstam, M.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Investigational Cancer Therapeutics, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
For leading practice-changing clinical oncology trials in human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-targeted therapy, bringing novel biomarker-driven combination therapies from bench to bedside. She is leading large-scale national efforts in precision oncology such as NCI ComboMATCH and investigator-initiated antibody drug conjugate-MATCH; and leads one of the most influential developmental therapeutics programs in the world.
