Dr J. Lederberg
The late Dr. Joshua Lederberg (1925 – 2008) was an American molecular biologist known for his work in genetics, artificial intelligence, and space exploration. At the age of 33 years he won the 1958 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for discovering that bacteria can mate and exchange genes. He shared the prize with Edward L. Tatum and George Beadle who won for their work with genetics.
He became the president of Rockefeller University in 1978, until he stepped down in 1990 and became professor-emeritus of molecular genetics and informatics.
Throughout his career, Lederberg was active as a scientific advisor to the U.S. government. In 1950, he started as a member of various panels of the Presidential Science Advisory Committee. By the end of the '70s he was a member of the U.S. Defense Science Board and the chairman of President Jimmy Carter's President's Cancer Panel. In the mid-'90s, he headed the Department of Defense's Task Force on Persian Gulf War Health Effects, which investigated Gulf War Syndrome.
In addition to receiving the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, he received the National Medal of Science for his contributions to the scientific world (1989) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2006).
In 1995, Dr. Lederberg commissioned research into finding unique ways to fight infection as he foresaw a dramatic increase in what is now known as Health Acquired Infections (HAI). This research, based upon Dr. Lederberg's many years experience in molecular biology, was patented in 2007 under the trade name Nouristrattm.
