The National Academy of Sciences has elected two of Boston Children Hospital's most preeminent scientists to join their ranks - George Daley, MD, PhD, and Jeffrey Holt, PhD.
Established by an Act of Congress signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is committed to furthering science nationally, and to contributing to the international scientific community. Elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research, members of the NAS are charged with providing independent, objective advice to the nation on matters related to science and technology.
George Daley, MD, PhD, Co-founder of the Stem Cell Program at Boston Children’s - World-renowned expert on stem cells, cancer, and blood disorders, Dr. Daley’s research seeks to unravel the mechanisms that underlie various cancers and blood disorders. His work has included the creation of customized stem cells to treat genetic immune deficiency in a mouse model, the generation of disease-specific pluripotent stem cells by direct reprogramming of human fibroblasts, and demonstrating the central role of the BCR/ABL oncoprotein in human chronic myelogenous leukemia, providing critical target validation for development of Gleevec, a highly successful chemotherapeutic agent. Dr. Daley has been a principal figure in authoring international guidelines for stem cell research and its clinical translation.
Jeffrey Holt, PhD, F .M. Kirby Neurobiology Center - Dr. Holt's research is focused on hearing and deafness, seeking to understand how stimuli from the external world, such as sound, gravity and head movements are converted into electrical signals, how the information is encoded, and how it is transmitted to the brain, with the ultimate goal of developing treatment strategies for patients with genetic hearing loss. The Holt lab’s discovery of the TMC1 molecule — the “hearing molecule” that is key to converting sound information into electrical signals — has led to deeper understanding of roughly 70 different mutations that result in genetic hearing loss, enabling the development of new treatments for patients who carry TMC1 mutations in the hopes of being able to restore functional hearing.
Boston Children's congratulates them both on achieving one of the national and international research community’s highest honors.