Two Columbia professors have been named members of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Election to NAS, in recognition of "distinguished and continuing achievements in original research," is considered one of the highest honors a scientist or engineer can receive.
The National Academy of Sciences was signed into being by Abraham Lincoln in 1863. It was eventually expanded to include the National Research Council in 1916, the National Academy of Engineering in 1964 and the Institute of Medicine in 1970—collectively, the four institutions are known as the National Academies. NAS consists of 2,113 members, with a total of 418 foreign associates. The newly elected Columbia researchers are among 72 new members and 18 foreign associates from 15 countries selected for 2011.
A total of 45 Columbia faculty are members of the NAS. The 2011 Columbia members are:
Michael E. Goldberg is David Mahoney Professor of Brain and Behavior in the Departments of Neuroscience, Neurology, Psychiatry and Ophthalmology, and the director of the Mahoney-Keck Center for Brain and Behavior Research at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons. His work focuses on understanding the physiological mechanisms underlying cognitive processes, such as visual attention, spatial perception and the generation of eye movements.
James Manley is the Julian Clarence Levi Professor of Life Sciences and former chair of the Department of Biological Sciences in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Columbia University. He is also a member of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center and Motor Neuron Center of Columbia University Medical Center. Manley's research centers on understanding the mechanism and regulation of gene expression in human cells, and how these processes can become deregulated in disease. Manley is an editor of two journals and has served on numerous editorial boards and review panels. He is an elected Fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Association for the Advancement of Science.