Johns Hopkins astrophysicist Riccardo Giacconi and
neuroscientist Solomon H. Snyder are two of eight
recipients of the 2003 National Medal of Science, the
United States' top scientific recognition, the White House
announced last week.
The two will be the seventh and eighth Johns Hopkins
faculty members to be awarded this honor. Giacconi and
Snyder will receive the medals in a White House ceremony on
Monday, March 14.
"Sol's and Riccardo's careers — as scientists
and as leaders of scientists — have been nothing
short of extraordinary," said
William R. Brody, president of Johns Hopkins. "Though
one seeks to solve the mysteries of the mind and brain and
the other explores the universe, they are really very much
alike: They are intensely curious. They are immensely
creative. They are relentless in their pursuit of knowledge
and truth. We are proud to be their colleagues."
Sol Snyder, University
Distinguished Service Professor of Neuroscience,
Pharmacology and Psychiatry in the SOM
PHOTO BY KEITH WELLER
|
Sol Snyder's research accomplishments range from the
discovery of opiate receptors in the brain — work for
which he shared the prestigious Albert Lasker Award in 1978
— to proof that gases can serve as neural
messengers.
Many advances in molecular neuroscience have stemmed
from Snyder's identification of receptors for
neurotransmitters and drugs, which led to clarification of
how psychotropic agents act in the brain. He pioneered the
labeling of receptors by a process called reversible ligand
binding, which led to his and colleagues' discovery of the
opiate receptor, and he extended the technique to identify
numerous other neurotransmitter receptors in the brain. In
characterizing each new group of receptors, he also
clarified the actions of major neuroactive drugs.
Snyder's techniques and discoveries have helped lead
to rational design of new drugs to treat psychiatric and
other diseases based on the rapid screening of large
numbers of candidate drugs, advances made possible by his
receptor binding technology. In addition, Snyder's
identification of novel neurotransmitters, such as the
gases nitric oxide and carbon monoxide and D-amino acids
such as D-serine, has radically reshaped concepts of
neurotransmission.
"This honor recognizes Sol as a pioneer in brain
sciences research and celebrates his many creative, novel
experimental approaches and numerous groundbreaking
discoveries," said Chi Dang, vice dean for research at the
School of Medicine. "Because of both his research and his
training of many of biomedical science's current and future
leaders, Sol's impact extends well beyond neuroscience. I
am extremely happy for Sol, and I join the Hopkins
community in congratulating him and in celebrating this
joyous event."
Snyder continues searching for new neurotransmitters
and receptors, as well as increasing understanding of those
he and his colleagues have discovered throughout the
years.
"I am grateful that the work of my students over the
past 40 years has received recognition," Snyder said. "I
feel honored to be included among other distinguished
neuroscientists who have also received the award,
especially my friend and colleague Vernon Mountcastle."
Born in 1938 in Washington, D.C., Snyder entered
Georgetown in a premedical program in 1955 and was admitted
to its medical school in 1958 without a bachelor's degree.
He earned an M.D. in 1962 at age 23.
From 1963 to 1965, Snyder was a research associate at
the National Institute of Mental Health in the laboratory
of Julius Axelrod, a 1970 Nobel laureate for whom he had
worked briefly prior to entering medical school. In 1965,
Snyder came to Johns Hopkins as a resident in
psychiatry and was made an assistant
professor of
pharmacology and experimental therapeutics the
following year. In 1970, by age 31, he had risen to full
professor in both departments.
In 1980, Snyder was appointed the first University
Distinguished Service Professor of Neuroscience,
Pharmacology and Psychiatry and director of the
Department
of Neuroscience, positions he still holds. He is a
fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a
member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, a fellow
of the Institute of Medicine of the U.S. National Academy
of Sciences and a fellow of the American Philosophical
Society. He is the recipient of six honorary doctorates and
numerous awards.
Co-recipient of the 2002 Nobel Prize in physics,
Riccardo Giacconi is considered the father of astronomy
research that exploits the X-ray portion of the
electromagnetic spectrum. His research opened a new window
on scientific understanding of the universe, from its
evolution to its component black holes, neutron stars,
galaxy clusters and quasars.
More than 40 years ago, Giacconi led the team that
discovered the faint, uniform phenomenon known as the
cosmic X-ray background. Since then, his work has helped
define that background and determine its origin. A longtime
leader in astrophysics, Giacconi has been responsible, in a
series of administrative posts, for the construction and
operation of some of the world's most important
astronomical observatories. One of those posts brought him
to Johns Hopkins in 1981.
"The National Medal of Science is our country's
highest recognition of scientific achievement. Through his
pioneering work in astronomy and his leadership of the
Hubble Space
Telescope, Dr. Giacconi has advanced our science, our
university, our city and our country," said Jonathan
Bagger, chair of the
Henry A. Rowland Department of Physics and Astronomy in
the Krieger School. "I am delighted that his many
contributions are being honored by President Bush."
"Riccardo is always a pleasure to work with," said
Colin Norman, a professor of physics and astronomy at
Hopkins and a collaborator of Giacconi's. "He holds fast to
the highest possible levels of scientific and technical
truth. He possesses profound physical insight, and his
strategic understanding into where [the field of] astronomy
and astrophysics is going and the path, in fact, it should
be taking is unmatched in the field."
Giacconi was born in Genoa, Italy, in 1931 and earned
a doctorate in physics in 1954 from the University of
Milan, where he was an assistant professor until he left
for the United States in 1956. After two years at the
University of Indiana and a year at Princeton, Giacconi
joined American Science and Engineering to launch a space
science program for the small corporation. In 1973 he
joined nearby Harvard University.
From 1981 to 1992, Giacconi was founding director of
the Space Telescope Science Institute, the science
headquarters for the Hubble Space Telescope on the Johns
Hopkins Homewood campus. From 1981 to 1997, he was a
professor in Physics and Astronomy at the university. He
became a research professor in 1998 and maintained his
personal research program here when he became president of
Associated Universities Inc., the consortium that
co-administers the National Radio Astronomy Observatory
with the National Science Foundation. He retired from AUI
late last year and was named University Professor at Johns
Hopkins in October 2004.
The National Medal of Science was established by
Congress in 1959 as a presidential award to be given to
individuals "deserving of special recognition by reason of
their outstanding contributions to knowledge in the
physical, biological, mathematical or engineering
sciences." In 1980 Congress expanded this recognition to
include the social and behavioral sciences. The Medal of
Science is administered by the National Science
Foundation.
Six other Johns Hopkins faculty members have been
recipients of the honor. The medal was awarded in 2002 to
Victor A. McKusick, University Professor of Medical
Genetics at the School of Medicine and the father of
genetic medicine; in 1993 to Nobel laureate Daniel Nathans
of the School of Medicine; in 1987 to nuclear physicist,
geophysicist and theoretical biologist Walter Elsasser of
the School of Arts and Sciences; in 1986 to both Donald A.
Henderson, dean of the School of Hygiene and Public Health,
and School of Medicine neuroscientist Vernon B.
Mountcastle; and in 1974 to sanitary engineering pioneer
Abel Wolman of the schools of Engineering and Hygiene and
Public Health.
GO TO