Biologists Honored

Philip Benfey, Paul Kramer Professor of biology, and Vann Bennett, James B. Duke Professor of cell biology, biochemistry, and neurobiology at Duke Medical Center, have joined exclusive company. This spring, they were elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest honors given to a scientist or engineer in the U.S.

Benfey is director of the Center for Systems Biology in the Duke Institute for Genome Sciences & Policy and conducts research on plant genomes. He is considered a pioneer in the field of systems biology.

Bennett, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, was recognized by the academy for his analysis of structural proteins called ankyrins. He has also studied the genetic underpinnings of disease in humans.