May 1, 2002
Two Dana-Farber researchers elected to the National Academy of Sciences
Membership in academy considered one of science's highest honors
Harvey Cantor, MD
Harvey Cantor, MD, and Bruce Spiegelman, PhD, researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. Considered one of the highest honors that can be accorded a U.S. scientist or engineer, election to membership in the Academy recognizes a scientist for distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.
With the election of Cantor and Spiegelman, there are now nine Dana-Farber researchers who hold membership in the Academy.
Bruce Spiegelman, PhD
"Being elected to the National Academy of Sciences is an enormous honor reserved only for the top echelon of scientists," says Edward J. Benz, Jr., MD, president of Dana-Farber. "Harvey Cantor and Bruce Spiegelman richly deserve this recognition for their seminal research."
Cantor, chairman of the Department of Cancer Immunology and AIDS at Dana-Farber, discovered that T lymphocytes, which had been thought to be a homogenous cell population, actually consisted of two functionally distinct subsets: T helper cells and T cytotoxic cells. T cells are a type of white blood cell that attacks virus-infected cells, foreign cells, and cancer cells. They also produce a number of substances that regulate the immune response.
Cantor's work also established the general principle that the pattern of cell surface proteins on lymphocyte subpopulations predicted the cell's developmental history and immunological function. This has formed the basis of the research of a generation of immunologists engaged in systematic definition of the diverse functional cellular elements that comprise normal and diseased immune systems.
Spiegelman, professor of cell biology at Dana-Farber, has been studying the regulation of energy metabolism including the control of fat cell differentiation and energy expenditure.
Spiegelman and his colleagues identified that the PPAR-gamma gene was a master regulator of differentiation of adipoctyes and other cell types. They also identified the protein PGC-1 as a switch for mitochondrial biogenesis and thermogensis. Spiegelman's lab and collaborators also have shown that PPAR-gamma is a target for the induction of differentiation of a number of human tumors in the lab and in patients.
The latest election of 72 members brings the total number of active members to 1,907. Fifteen foreign associates from 12 countries were also elected to the Academy. Foreign associates, now totaling 330, are nonvoting members of the Academy, with citizenship outside the United States.
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, that calls on the Academy to act as an official adviser to the federal government, upon request, in any matter of science or technology.
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (www.danafarber.org) is a principal teaching affiliate of the Harvard Medical School and is among the leading cancer research and care centers in the United States. It is a founding member of the Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC), designated a comprehensive cancer center by the National Cancer Institute.
