E. Dale Abel, MD, PhD, the William S. Adams Distinguished Professor of Medicine, Chair and Executive Medical Director of the Department of Medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine and UCLA Health, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of his distinguished achievements and contributions to endocrinology and cardiology.
Dr. Abel was one of 120 members and 30 international members elected to the National Academy in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.
Dr. Abel’s pioneering work on glucose transport and mitochondrial metabolism in the heart guides his current research interests: molecular mechanisms responsible for cardiovascular complications of diabetes. His laboratory has provided important insights into the contribution of mitochondrial dysfunction and aberrant insulin signaling, to heart failure risk in diabetes. Recent work has focused on mitochondrial mechanisms that mediate inter-organ crosstalk that may influence the pathophysiology of insulin resistance and mitochondrial pathways linking metabolism with increased risk for atherothrombosis.
“Election to the National Academy of Sciences is among the most prestigious recognitions an American scientist can attain. I applaud this important achievement and congratulate Dr. Abel on behalf of all of UCLA Health,” said Vice Chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences and CEO of UCLA Health Dr. John Mazziotta.
Dr. Abel’s research program has been continually funded by the National Institutes of Health since 1995, and by the American Heart Association. Dr. Abel is the recipient of numerous awards for scholarship and mentorship. He is an elected member of the American Association of Physicians (AAP), the American Society for Clinical Investigation (ASCI), National Academy of Medicine (NAM), and the American Clinical and Climatological Association (ACCA). Dr. Abel is a past President of the Endocrine Society and is currently President of the Association of Professors of Medicine (APM).
With his election, Dr. Abel joins 2,512 active members and 517 international members of the National Academy of Sciences, a private, nonprofit institution established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Membership is one of the highest honors that a scientist can achieve with members including 190 Nobel prize recipients and advisors to the federal government and other organizations. To learn more, visit nasonline.org.
