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NYU School of Medicine Scientist Is Elected a Member of the Institute of Medicine

New York, NY, October 9, 2006 – Ruth S. Nussenzweig, M.D., Ph.D., C.V. Starr Professor of Medical and Molecular Parasitology, at the Departments of Medical Parasitology and Pathology, New York University School of Medicine, has been elected as a member of the Institute of Medicine. Election to the Institute is widely considered one of the highest accolades given in the fields of medicine and health.

Current active members elect new members from among candidates nominated for their professional achievement and commitment to service. The Institute of Medicine is unique for its structure as both an honorific membership organization and an advisory organization. Established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute has become recognized as a national resource for independent, scientifically informed analysis and recommendations on issues related to human health. With their election, members make a commitment to devote a significant amount of volunteer time as members of IOM study committees.

Dr. Nussenzweig is widely know for her pioneering work in malaria research. She and her husband Dr. Victor Nussenzweig, the Hermann M. Biggs Professor of Pathology and head of the Michael Heidelberger Division of Pathology of Infectious Diseases at NYU School of Medicine, began their research collaboration while in medical school. In 1967, Ruth Nussenzweig and colleagues made a major breakthrough in a series of important discoveries in malaria research, finding that they could induce protection against this infection by immunization of mice, monkeys and humans with irradiated sporozoites. The observation that the CS protein is a target for inducing this immunity led to further work for the Nussenzweig’s and their collaborators to clone the pertinent gene, ultimately accelerating the drive toward clinical trials of current malaria vaccines. More detail about this work can be found at http://www.med.nyu.edu/parasitology/aboutus/vaccine_research.html

Born in Austria, Dr. Ruth Nussenzweig received her M.D. and her Ph.D. degree from the University of Sao Paulo School of Medicine in Brazil. In 1965, she moved to the United States to join the faculty at NYU School of Medicine. She was named professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at NYU in 1972, in 1976 she became professor and head of the Division of Parasitology, and in 1984, professor and chairperson of the Department of Medical and Molecular Parasitology. She assumed her current position in 2002.

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