Gregory Petsko
May 2011 Honorary Degree Recipient
Doctor of Laws (honoris causa)
Dr. Gregory Petsko is a man in the company of some extraordinary individuals -- people like Charles Darwin, Margaret Mead and Thomas Edison. Dr. Petsko joined this illustrious elite just over a year ago, when he was elected to the American Philosophical Society, a learned group founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin to represent exceptional scholarly accomplishment. Since its beginnings, the American Philosophical Society has recognized some of the finest minds in the world. Little wonder, then, that Gregory Petsko is a member. And little wonder we are so pleased to have Dr. Petsko with us here today.
Dr. Petsko is chair of the biochemistry department at Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts. A veteran scientist, he is one of the world鈥檚 leading researchers in the structural basis of biochemical properties, with particular expertise in protein crystallography. His work sheds light on the role of proteins in human disease and provides insight into therapeutic approaches at the molecular level.
What does mean for society? For you and me? Dr. Petsko鈥檚 new knowledge is likely to advance the prevention and treatment of diseases like Parkinson鈥檚 and Alzheimer鈥檚. Without such knowledge, we are headed toward what Dr. Petsko describes as an 鈥渆pidemic of neurological diseases on a global scale.鈥�
Dr. Petsko is an esteemed scientist who readily admits a love of research, but he is even more committed to another passion: training the next generation of scientists.
He says his greatest accomplishment will always be the more than 100 graduate students and postdocs he has helped train 鈥� a group that includes five Howard Hughes Investigators and two members of the National Academy of Sciences. He is proud to say he has taught first-year chemistry almost continuously for 25 years. You may be surprised to learn that he also teaches a course in the history of the detective story.
Dr. Petsko shares his expertise and wisdom through many advocacy activities. He is President of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology which, with over 12,000 members, is one of the largest scientific societies in the United States. He has defended research funding before a U.S. Government House Appropriations Subcommittee. And, at the request of the Association of American Medical Colleges and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, he served on a panel of leading scientists and physicians who made recommendations on the scientific foundation required for future physicians. This landmark report is expected to greatly influence medical education for years to come.聽
Dr. Petsko has been instrumental in helping establish world-class research facilities in Canada and maintains collaborations with 黄色直播 researchers, including Drs. Richard Singer and Gerald Johnston. Dr. Johnston describes his friend as a 鈥渟cholar,鈥� 鈥渟tellar researcher,鈥� 鈥渕entor to faculty and trainees,鈥� 鈥渋ncredible corporate citizen鈥� and 鈥渟omething of a renaissance man鈥� who stimulates, informs, engages and entertains.聽聽
In fact, Dr. Petsko actually started out as a classical literature major who went on to graduate in chemistry from Princeton University. With a Rhodes Scholarship in hand, he headed to Oxford University and, from there, his research and teaching took off 鈥� first, at Wayne State University School of Medicine; then the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Brandeis University, where he chairs the biochemistry department and is the Gyula and Katica Tauber Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacodynamics. Along the way, he held appointments at Brigham and Women鈥檚 Hospital in Boston, Harvard Medical School and the Tufts Medical Centre.
His list of honors and awards is lengthy. A small sampling: he has been co-recipient of both a Max Planck Prize and a Lynen Medal. He鈥檚 been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.聽 He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 2006, he and Brandeis colleague Professor Dagmar Ringe shared the Abram Sachar Medallion awarded by the Brandeis University National Women鈥檚 Committee. Dr. Petsko was the first man to ever receive that award, claiming he may -- finally -- be getting in touch with his feminine side.
It is by now, I am sure, clear that Dr. Petsko鈥檚 presence here today puts us in the company of an exceptional man 鈥� one whose contributions to science are recognized worldwide, and whose inspiration to future doctors and researchers is profound. He is a man of wisdom, knowledge and extraordinary accomplishment and service. For all of this, I ask you, Mr. Chancellor, on behalf of Senate, to bestow upon Dr. Gregory A. Petsko the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa.