Christof Niehrs of IMB elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

The Academy convenes leaders from the academic, business, and government sectors to address key challenges faced by today's global society. Through studies, publications, and programmes on various areas of the Arts and Sciences, the Academy provides authoritative and nonpartisan policy advice to decision-makers in government, academia, and the private sector. It currently has 4,600 Fellows and 600 Foreign Honorary Members. These include many of the most accomplished scholars and practitioners worldwide. Notable past Foreign Honorary Members of the society include Alexander von Humboldt, Charles Darwin, and Werner Heisenberg.

"I am honoured to have been elected to join such an exceptional group of scholars", says Christof Niehrs, "and I am very much looking forward to participating in the Academy's activities." Professor Niehrs is the Founding and Scientific Director of the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), which opened on the campus of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), Germany, in 2011. He is a developmental biologist who has received a number of honours and awards for his pioneering research into mechanisms underlying early embryonic development. His current research focusses on two fields, epigenetics of DNA methylation and Wnt growth factor signalling, both aiming to unravel how cells regulate differentiation and avoid disease.

Christof Niehrs is among 213 respected artists and scientists who have been elected to membership of the American Academy this year and one of the 37 Foreign Honorary Members. Other members of the 2016 class include winners of the Pulitzer Prize and the Wolf Prize, MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships, the Fields Medal as well as the Grammy and National Book Awards.

"It is an honour to welcome this new class of exceptional women and men as part of our distinguished membership," said Don Randel, Chair of the Academy's Board of Directors, in a press release. "Their election affords us an invaluable opportunity to bring their expertise and knowledge to bear on some of the most significant challenges of our day. We look forward to engaging these new members in the work of the Academy."

The new members of the Academy will be inducted at a ceremony on Oct. 08, 2016 at its headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.

Provided by Universitaet Mainz