Three Yale School of Medicine faculty members have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) for 2025. Election to NAM recognizes outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service, and it is one of the highest honors within health and medicine.
Martina Brueckner, MD, professor of pediatrics (cardiology) and of genetics, was elected for her groundbreaking research on the cellular and molecular mechanisms that drive left-right asymmetry in vertebrates—an essential process behind the asymmetric structure and positioning of our internal organs. She was also recognized for her leading role in the consortium that identified a genetic cause for roughly 40% of congenital heart disease cases.
Lieping Chen, MD, PhD, United Technologies Corporation Professor in Cancer Research and professor of immunobiology, of dermatology, and of medicine (medical oncology), and a member of Yale Cancer Center, was elected to NAM for his fundamental contributions that deepen our understanding of how cancers evade immune detection. Chen discovered the PD-L1 molecule, a protein expressed on cancer cells that suppresses the immune response and promotes tumor growth. His work also revealed that PD-L1 is highly upregulated in many cancers and that blocking PD-L1/PD-1 interaction can help the immune system eliminate tumors, which laid the groundwork for key immunotherapies.
Tamas Horvath, DVM, PhD, chair and Jean and David W. Wallace Professor of Comparative Medicine and professor of neuroscience and of obstetrics, gynecology, and reproductive sciences, was recognized for providing novel insights into how the hypothalamus regulates metabolism. His work has shown that hypothalamic metabolic circuits regulate higher brain functions and influence neurodegeneration, thus changing fundamental concepts of integrative physiology in health and disease.
Brueckner, Chen, and Horvath join the approximately 2,500 current members of NAM. One hundred new individuals—90 from the United States and 10 international members—are elected each year by current members.