Marc Montminy, a biologist and medical doctor at the Salk Institute of Biological Studies, has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the most prestigious honors that can be bestowed on a scientist.
Montminy focuses on how our brains and bodies regulate metabolism, and how metabolic diseases occur. His most noteworthy research, which I wrote about last month, has been the discovery of genes that act as metabolic switches, including a so-called fasting switch that plays a role in the development of type II diabetes.
Montminy was among 72 members elected to the NAS Tuesday. He is now among 15 Salk scientists who have that distinction.