Professor Jodi Nunnari, chair of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology in the College of Biological Sciences, has been elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the academy announced today (May 2). Nunnari studies mitochondria, tiny structures that provide energy to living cells and which are implicated in a wide range of diseases, including heart disease and stroke.

Nunnari is among 84 new members and 21 foreign associates elected to the academy this year in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Election to the academy is considered one of the highest honors a scientist can receive. Nunnari is one of 27 current or retired UC Davis faculty who are members or foreign associates of the academy.

UC Davis will issue a formal news release later this week.

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit institution established under a congressional charter signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863. Together with the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine, the sciences academy provides advice on science, engineering and health policy to the federal government and other organizations.

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