2 Boston Children’s Researchers Elected to National Academy of Sciences

An announcement from Dr. Kevin Churchwell, CEO of Boston Children’s Hospital, on May 2, 2025:

Last week, we announced the election of two of our esteemed colleagues to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. This week brings news that further demonstrates the incredible scope of vision, innovation, and excellence that defines our research mission at Boston Children’s — from an organization that has existed even longer than we have.

Established by an Act of Congress signed by President Abraham Lincoln in 1863, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is committed to furthering science nationally, and to contributing to the international scientific community. Elected by their peers for outstanding contributions to research, members of the NAS are charged with providing independent, objective advice to the nation on matters related to science and technology. 

We could not be prouder to announce that this year, the NAS has elected two our most preeminent scientists to join their ranks:

• George Q. Daley, MD, PhD, Co-founder of the Stem Cell Program at Boston Children’s, Dean of Harvard Medical School. A world-renowned expert on stem cells, cancer, and blood disorders, Dr. Daley’s research seeks to unravel the mechanisms that underlie various cancers and blood disorders. His work has included the creation of customized stem cells to treat genetic immune deficiency in a mouse model, the generation of disease-specific pluripotent stem cells by direct reprogramming of human fibroblasts, and demonstrating the central role of the BCR/ABL oncoprotein in human chronic myelogenous leukemia, providing critical target validation for development of Gleevec, a highly successful chemotherapeutic agent. Dr. Daley has been a principal figure in authoring international guidelines for stem cell research and its clinical translation.
• Jeffrey R. Holt, PhD, F.M. Kirby Neurobiology Center, whose research is focused on hearing and deafness, seeking to understand how stimuli from the external world, such as sound, gravity and head movements are converted into electrical signals, how the information is encoded and how it is transmitted to the brain, with the ultimate goal of developing treatment strategies for patients with genetic hearing loss. The Holt lab’s discovery of the TMC1 molecule — the “hearing molecule” that is key to converting sound information into electrical signals — has led to deeper understanding of roughly 70 different mutations that result in genetic hearing loss, enabling the development of new treatments for patients who carry TMC1 mutations in the hopes of being able to restore functional hearing.

We are grateful and proud that Drs. Daley and Holt have chosen to make Boston Children’s home to their life-changing work, not only in the lab, but in their teaching and mentorship of the next generation of scientists and trailblazers.

Please join us in congratulating them both on achieving one of the national and international research community’s highest honors.