Endocrine Insider
May 1, 2008

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) elected Society member Dr. David Mangelsdorf, chairman of pharmacology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, to membership.

Dr. Mangelsdorf was cited by the NAS as an internationally prominent researcher in lipid biology who has made major contributions to the understanding of the mechanisms that control cholesterol and bile acid metabolism.

Dr. Mangelsdorf’s research focuses on nuclear receptors, and he has discovered several new molecules, called ligands, that activate so-called orphan nuclear receptors. He has determined the critical role these receptors and ligands play in the regulation of lipid and bile acid metabolism and the governance of cholesterol.

Election to membership in the NAS is considered one of the highest honors accorded an American scientist. The election of new NAS members was announced during the 145th annual meeting of the academy in Washington, D.C.