WASHINGTON (Dec. 16, 2014) — Today, Douglas Nixon, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Department of Microbiology, Immunology & Tropical Medicine and Walter G. Ross Professor of Basic Science Research at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Science, was named a 2014 National Academy of Inventors (NAI) Fellow.
Nixon is one of 170 distinguished innovators announced as NAI Fellows today. He joins a total of 414 NAI Fellows, holding nearly 14,000 U.S. patents, and representing more than 150 prestigious research universities and governmental and non-profit research institutions. Election to NAI Fellow status is a high professional distinction accorded to academic inventors who have demonstrated a highly prolific spirit of innovation in creating or facilitating outstanding inventions that have made a tangible impact on quality of life, economic development, and the welfare of society.
“I am honored to be inducted as a NAI Fellow,” said Nixon. “To be included amongst so many inventors and distinguished innovators is truly inspiring.”
Among his many accomplishments over the last 25 years as an immunovirology researcher, Nixon has gained recognition for publishing the first identification of an HIV specific cytotoxic T cell epitope. He has published more than 200 articles in peer-reviewed journals, including first- or senior-author publications in Nature, PNAS, Journal of Clinical Investigation, PLoS Pathogens, and holds several patents. In addition to GW, he has also held positions at the University of California, San Francisco, University of Oxford, and The Rockefeller University. Nixon was awarded the Elizabeth Glaser Scientist Award, and he was recently named as one of the 2012 POZ 100, which is an elite group of scientists, researchers, advocates, politicians, and celebrities recognized for their significant contributions to end AIDS.
The NAI Fellows will be inducted on Mar. 20, 2015, as part of the Fourth Annual Conference of the NAI at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office Deputy Commissioner for Patent Operations Andrew Faile will be providing the keynote address for the induction ceremony.
"We are delighted to recognize the 2014 NAI Fellows and their unparalleled commitment to excellence in academic invention," said NAI President Dr. Paul R. Sanberg. "Their many discoveries have made a truly significant impact on society and we are proud to honor them for these contributions."
