Prof. Antonio Lanzavecchia appointed member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences

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Institutional Communication Service

6 May 2016

On May 3, 2016, Antonio Lanzavecchia has been elected, member of the U. S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS), one of the most significant and highest honors given to academic researchers. He was among the 21 new foreign associates from 14 countries, and 84 new members from the US elected this year to the NAS. This brings the total number of NAS active members to 2,291 and the total number of foreign associates to 465, of whom approximately 200 have received Nobel prizes.

Antonio Lanzavecchia is full professor of Immunology at the ETH in Zurich and founding director of the Institute for Research in Biomedicine in Bellinzona, affiliated to the Università della Svizzera italiana. Previously, he was a member of the Basel Institute for Immunology and taught Immunology at the University of Genoa and at the University of Siena. His research has covered several aspects of human cellular immunology, from antigen processing and presentation, to dendritic cell biology and T and B lymphocyte activation and memory. Lanzavecchia’s honors include the EMBO medal in 1988 and the Cloëtta prize in 1999. He was awarded twice the prestigious ERC Advanced Grant from the European Research Council, which is intended for European researchers who have made outstanding contributions in their fields of research, and is assigned to enable them to perform particularly challenging and highly innovative projects. Lanzavecchia earned his degree in Medicine at the University of Pavia in 1976, where he specialized in Paediatrics and in Infectious Diseases.

About the NAS
The NAS is a private, non-profit organization of distinguished and leading US researchers. It was established by an Act of Congress, signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. The NAS responsibility is to provide independent and objective advices to the federal government and other organizations on matters related to science, technology, and health policy. The NAS recognises and promotes outstanding science through election to membership, publication in its journal: PNAS, awards, programs, and other specific activities. Every year it elects Members in recognition of their outstanding and continuing achievements in original research. This membership is considered one of the highest honors that a scientist can receive. Members must be US citizens; non-US citizens are elected as foreign associates, with a maximum of 21 elected annually.

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