Oct 21, 2019
Dear colleagues,
We are pleased to announce that Krzysztof Palczewski, the Irving H. Leopold Chair in Ophthalmology and a professor of physiology & biophysics, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine. An internationally renowned chemist, pharmacologist and vision scientist, he has made critical contributions to the understanding of inherited and age-related retinal diseases in an effort to treat blindness.
Palczewski received the 2015 Bressler Prize in Vision Science and the inaugural 2014 Beckman-Argyros Award in Vision Research. He is the only person to win both the Cogan Award for the most promising young vision scientist and the Friedenwald Award for continuously outstanding ophthalmology research from the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology.
UCI now has five faculty who are members of the National Academy of Medicine, which is one of the highest professional distinctions accorded to those contributing to the areas of medical sciences, healthcare and public health. This exceptional accomplishment illustrates the academic excellence of UCI faculty, which now includes 42 members of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine; 35 members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; nine members of the National Academy of Inventors; and four members of the National Academy of Education.
On behalf of Chancellor Gillman, please join us in congratulating Professor Palczewski on this extraordinary achievement.
Sincerely,
Enrique J. Lavernia, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
Distinguished Professor, Department of Materials Science and Engineering
Michael J. Stamos, M.D., FACS, FASCRS
Dean, School of Medicine