Professor Thomas McDade has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies. McDade is the Carlos Montezuma Professor of Anthropology at Weinberg College, director of the Laboratory for Human Biology Research and Director of Cells to Society (C2S): The Center on Social Disparities and Health in the Institute for Policy Research at Northwestern.
A biological anthropologist, McDade’s work is primarily concerned with the dynamic interrelationships among society, biology and health over the life-course, with an emphasis on long-term effects of early environments, and the integration of biological measures into population-based research. In June 2020, he launched a large community-based study called SCAN: Screening for Coronavirus Antibodies in Neighborhoods. SCAN aims to track the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, and to identify the circumstances and behaviors associated with exposure and severity of infection. Last summer, a team of Northwestern scientists, including McDade, received a $200,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to generate scientific insights into the determinants of SARS-CoV-2 exposure with a minimally invasive approach to community-based serological testing.
The Academy was founded in 1780 by John Adams, James Bowdoin and others who believed the new republic should honor exceptionally accomplished individuals and engage them in advancing the public good. The Academy’s dual mission remains essentially the same 240 years later with honorees from increasingly diverse fields and with the work now focused on the arts and humanities, democracy and justice, education, global affairs and science.
The 2021 class includes CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta, civil rights activist and math literacy pioneer Robert Moses, NASA atmospheric scientist Anne Thompson and Oprah Winfrey.