Pioneering biochemists Natalie Ahn and Karolin Luger have been inducted into the National Academy of Sciences, an honor that recognizes 'distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.' Membership in the prestigious organization is widely considered to be one of the highest honors that a scientist can receive.
Ahn joined the CU Boulder faculty in 1992 and served as an HHMI Investigator from 1994–2014. She serves as President of the American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
“This is such a great honor,' said Ahn, a Professor of Distinction in Chemistry and Biochemistry and Associate Director of the BioFrontiers Institute. 'I owe many thanks to my past mentors, and to my wonderful colleagues, students and friends in our amazing CU Boulder community.”
Ahn's research focuses on enzymatic and cellular mechanisms underlying cell signal transduction. She conducted pioneering work in the discovery of the mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase cascade, including the identification of MAP kinase kinases which are important targets for anti-cancer therapies. She was also a pioneer in the use of functional proteomics and mass spectrometry for signal transduction research.
The 2018 class of National Academy of Sciences inductees includes 84 researchers from across the country as well as 21 foreign associates. The new inductees bring the total number of active members to 2,382 and the total number of foreign associates to 484.
