Roger Davis Elected to The American Academy of Arts & Sciences
Date Posted: Friday, April 30, 2021
Roger J. Davis, PhD, FRS, was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. It was founded in 1780, during the American Revolution, by John Adams, John Hancock, and 60 other scholar-patriots.
“I am deeply humbled to accept this honor,” said Dr. Davis, the H. Arthur Smith Professor and Chair of the Department of Molecular Medicine. “It represents recognition of the many accomplishments of colleagues in my research group at UMass Chan Medical School.”
Distinguished members of the American Academy throughout the centuries include Benjamin Franklin (elected 1781), Alexander Hamilton (1791), Ralph Waldo Emerson (1864), Charles Darwin (1874), Albert Einstein (1924), Martin Luther King, Jr. (1966), and Anthony Fauci (1991).
Dr. Davis is among the 2021 class of scholars, scientists, artists, and leaders being recognized for examining new ideas in their field and addressing pressing global issues. His election recognizes his research on stress signaling pathways that are connected to a range of diseases, including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer. He’s authored more than 400 scientific papers, and his studies have led to the discovery of new genes that contribute to the development of these devastating diseases. There have been years during which his scientific publications have been among the most often cited research papers in the world.
Arriving at UMass Chan Medical School in 1982 as a research fellow in the Czech lab, Dr. Davis became an assistant professor in what was then the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology the following year. In 1990, he was promoted to associate professor, became a founding member of the Program in Molecular Medicine, and was named an investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
In 2002, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, adding to a resume that includes membership in the American Academy of Microbiology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He is also a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization, the National Academy of Inventors, and the National Academy of Sciences.
The Davis lab is currently investigating the molecular mechanism by which inflammation contributes to diabetes and working on the design of novel therapeutic strategies.
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Roger Davis Elected into the National Academy of Sciences