Dr Elizabeth Winzeler elected to the National Academy of Medicine
Dr Elizabeth Winzeler, PhD1, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
Considered as one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine, new members of the National Academy of Medicine are recognized for their contributions to the advancement of the medical sciences, health care and public health.
Dr Winzeler is known for her early contribution to the field of functional genomics, where she worked primarily in the model yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. She then shifted, devoting her work to improving the quality of antimalarial drugs and developing molecular solutions that would accelerate the process of eliminating malaria around the world, publishing extensively on the disease, and targeting identification, generating a large number of citation classics.
In collaboration with MMV, Dr Winzeler and her team at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), worked to identify new molecules active against the liver and other stages of malaria. As a result, the team has successfully optimized the assay and screened over half a million compounds, identifying, and analyzing hundreds of active compounds in the process. Previously, she worked for the Genome Foundation of Novartis, where her team pioneered the use of 1536-well screening technology in parasitology.
“It’s great to see Elizabeth recognised by the National Academy of Medicine,” said Dr Timothy Wells, CSO of MMV. “Her pioneering work on searching for new antimalarials has been at the heart of many of the new medicines currently under clinical development against malaria, amongst them, cipargamin and ganaplacide. She has been a leading light in the identification of new validated molecular targets for the next generation of cures targeting the emerging drug resistant strains.”
MMV extends its congratulations to Dr Winzeler for this prestigious and well-deserved achievement.
[1] Professor in the Division of Host Microbe Systems and Therapeutics in the Department of Pediatrics at UC San Diego School of Medicine and adjunct professor in the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at UC San Diego