Gladstone Scientists Melanie Ott and Alex Marson Join National Academy of Medicine

Gladstone Institutes scientists Melanie Ott, MD, PhD, and Alex Marson, MD, PhD, have been elected to the National Academy of Medicine, one of the highest honors conferred in the fields of health and medicine. The two physician-scientists, who both direct major research institutes at Gladstone and hold professorships at the University of California, San Francisco, were formally elected during the academy's annual meeting in Washington, DC. This year's election class comprised 90 regular members and 10 international members, each chosen by their peers in recognition of outstanding professional achievement and commitment to service in the medical sciences, health care, and public health.

The election brings the total membership of the National Academy of Medicine to more than 2,600 individuals, including more than 300 international members. With the addition of Ott and Marson, Gladstone Institutes is now home to nine academy members. The institution's existing roster includes president Deepak Srivastava as well as Jennifer Doudna, Warner Greene, Robert W. Mahley, Lennart Mucke, Katie Pollard, and Shinya Yamanaka.

Established in 1970 as the Institute of Medicine by the National Academy of Sciences, the academy addresses critical issues in health, science, medicine, and related policy, and works to inspire positive action across sectors of society. Srivastava, who is himself a member of the academy, framed the dual election as a reflection of the breadth of work underway at the San Francisco research organization. In a statement issued by Gladstone, he described the honor as a well-deserved recognition of the transformative impact both scientists have made in their respective fields, pointing to Ott's work on viral mechanisms and pandemic preparedness and Marson's efforts to reprogram human immune cells to fight disease.

He noted that their achievements embody the institute's mission to confront some of the most daunting medical challenges facing humanity. Ott serves as director of the Gladstone Infectious Disease Institute and as senior vice president at Gladstone. She is also the Nick and Sue Hellmann Distinguished Professor and a professor in the Department of Medicine at UC San Francisco.

Her citation also credits her role in pioneering CRISPR-based and mobile phone diagnostics and in translating fundamental virology into innovative prevention and treatment strategies. Ott directs the NIH-funded HOPE Collaboratory, a research consortium pursuing precisely that dual goal of silencing and permanently eliminating HIV from the body. Beyond HIV, Ott's laboratory studies how dangerous pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, and hepatitis C, hijack human cells during infection.

The overarching aim is to thwart viruses circulating today while building knowledge that prepares the scientific community for emerging threats. She is also recognized for globally acknowledged leadership in pandemic preparedness and for her mentorship of the next generation of scientists, a dimension of her career that the academy's citation explicitly honors. In response to the announcement, Ott expressed gratitude to the many colleagues she has worked with over the years and emphasized that the challenges posed by HIV and other viruses have demonstrated that real-world progress comes from scientists working together across disciplines and countries.

She said she is honored to join the National Academy of Medicine and excited to help build resilience against global health threats, a statement that underscores the collaborative and internationally networked character of modern infectious disease research. Marson serves as the Connie and Bob Lurie Director of the Gladstone-UCSF Institute for Genomic Immunology and is a professor in the Departments of Medicine and Microbiology and Immunology at UCSF. He additionally holds the role of center director of the Parker Institute for Cancer Immunotherapy at Gladstone Institutes and scientific director for biomedicine at the Innovative Genomics Institute.

The academy elected him for revolutionizing genome engineering in human immune cells and for pioneering new CRISPR-based technologies to unravel the workings of the immune system. According to the announcement, his discoveries have transformed the landscape of functional genomics and immunotherapy, enabling the development of next-generation treatments for cancer, autoimmune diseases, and infectious diseases. The technical core of Marson's program lies in advanced gene-editing technologies designed to rewrite the DNA programs of human immune cells.

By deploying CRISPR-based tools in T cells and other immune cell types, his laboratory aims to engineer programmable cellular therapies, often described as living medicines, that can be tuned to recognize and attack specific disease targets. Marson said he is deeply honored to join the academy alongside exceptional colleagues, describing the recognition as a tribute to the multidisciplinary team of scientists in his laboratory and to partners working at the intersection of genomics and immunology. He added that he looks forward to working with the academy to harness the power of immunotherapies for patients who urgently need them.

National Academy of Medicine President Monica M. Bertagnolli welcomed both new members, stating that their extraordinary talent and commitment to advancing evidence-based guidance and solutions for the country's greatest health care challenges will strengthen efforts to improve health for all. Gladstone Institutes, an independent nonprofit life science research organization established in 1979 in San Francisco's Mission Bay neighborhood, described the dual election as a milestone for an institution that has built its research model around funding ambitious ideas and attracting leading scientific talent.

Subject of Research: Election of Gladstone Institutes scientists Melanie Ott and Alex Marson to the National Academy of Medicine

Article Title: Gladstone’s Melanie Ott and Alex Marson elected to the National Academy of Medicine

Article References: Gladstone’s Melanie Ott and Alex Marson elected to the National Academy of Medicine. Original publication (Bibliographic details unavailable.)

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Keywords: National Academy of Medicine, Gladstone Institutes, Melanie Ott, Alex Marson, HIV cure research, CRISPR, genome engineering, immunotherapy, pandemic preparedness, virology, epigenetics, UC San Francisco