BIDMC's Bradford Lowell, MD, PhD, Elected to the National Academy of Sciences

BOSTON – Bradford Lowell, MD, PhD, director of the Transgenic Program at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, is among 120 new members and 23 international members elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). NAS fellows are chosen for distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.

“Congratulations to Dr. Lowell on this extremely well-deserved recognition,” said Mark Zeidel, MD, chair of the Department of Medicine at BIDMC. “Having been a BIDMC faculty member since 1992, Dr. Lowell has made countless contributions to advancing understanding in the field of endocrinology.”

Lowell’s lab works to identify how the brain receives information about the state of the body, combines this with sensory cues from the outside world, to then change behaviors like eating and physiology like metabolism to optimize well-being. Using genetically engineered mice, Lowell’s team manipulates neuron firing rates, measures neuron activity, and maps connectivity between neurons to discover the key neural circuits that regulate hunger and satiety. His key findings include uncovering the neuronal circuits that control hunger and satiety, the learning of tasks oriented towards acquiring food, the drive to consume salt, and the regulation of food and water intake.

“Dr. Lowell’s election to the National Academy of Sciences is a reflection of his extensive work to address brain behavior related to appetite and hunger,” said Gyongyi Szabo, MD, PhD, chief academic officer of BIDMC and Beth Israel Lahey Health. “By unraveling the mechanisms of metabolism, his work is leading towards strategies to improve human health.”

The NAS is a private, nonprofit institution that was established under a congressional charter signed by President Lincoln in 1863. The academy recognizes achievement in science through election to its membership, and it also provides science, engineering and health policy advice to the federal government and other organizations. Scientists are elected by their peers to membership, and as the role of science has expanded in the United States, the National Academy has grown to include the Institute of Medicine, the National Academy of Engineering and the National Research Council.

Lowell received his MD and PhD degrees from Boston University School of Medicine and completed postdoctoral training in medicine at Beth Israel Hospital (now BIDMC). He is an associate member of the Broad Institute.