Andrea Baccarelli and Wendy Chung Elected to the National Academy of Medicine
Two faculty members of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center (HICCC), Andrea Baccarelli, MD, PhD, and Wendy Chung, MD, PhD, have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), announced Oct. 19. Election to the prestigious academy is considered one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine and recognizes individuals who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service.
Drs. Baccarelli and Chung join the new class of 100 NAM members, which also this year include fellow Columbia faculty, Sonia Yris Angell, MD, MPH (Medicine); Kam Leong, PhD (Biomedical Engineering); and Patricia Stone, PhD, RN (Nursing).
Dr. Baccarelli, a member of the HICCC’s Cancer Population Science research program, is chair of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the Mailman School of Public Health. The NAM is recognizing him for his “pioneering work showing that environmental chemicals and lifestyle risk factors adversely affect the human epigenome, thereby producing adverse lifetime health consequences.” Dr. Baccarelli's research investigates epigenetic and molecular mechanisms as potential functional pathways linking exposures to environmental pollutants to human disease, including cancer.
Dr. Chung, a member of the HICCC’s Cancer Genomics and Epigenomics research program, is professor of pediatrics and of medicine at Columbia’s Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons. The NAM is lauding her for “identifying the genetic basis for over 45 monogenic conditions (two of which bear her name) across a wide range of diseases, and leading the pivotal study of newborn screening for spinal muscular atrophy.” The academy also is distinguishing Dr. Chung for her role as the original plaintiff in the Supreme Court case that overturned the ability to patent genes.
Dr. Chung directs the HICCC’s Cancer Research Career Enhancement Core, and leads the Precision Medicine Resource at the Irving Institute and the Division of Clinical Genetics in Pediatrics. She has extensive experience mapping and cloning genes in humans, and describing the clinical characteristics and natural history of novel genetic conditions and characterizing the spectrum of disease. Her expertise also is in developing tailored care and treatments for rare genetic diseases.
At the HICCC, 17 are NAM members, including Director Anil K. Rustgi, MD, who was elected in 2019, and members Andrea Califano, Dr, and Jordan Orange, MD, both elected in 2018.
New members of the NAM are elected by current members through a process that recognizes individuals who have made major contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care, and public health. Drs. Baccarelli and Chung join a class of 90 new national members and 10 international elected to the prestigious organization.