The Council of the National Academy of Sciences has approved the nomination of Neil H. Shubin, Robert R. Bensley Distinguished Service Professor of Organismal Biology and Anatomy and associate dean of basic science research and academic strategy at the University of Chicago, for election as the Academy’s next president. A committee chaired by John Boothroyd, Burt and Marion Avery Professor Emeritus at Stanford University School of Medicine, selected Shubin as its recommended candidate after a six-month search process. Shubin will succeed Marcia McNutt when her second and final term as NAS president ends on June 30, 2026.
A renowned evolutionary biologist, educator, author, and science communicator, Shubin earned his bachelor’s degree in biology from Columbia College of Columbia University in 1982 and a Ph.D. in organismic and evolutionary biology from Harvard University in 1987.

The National Academies announced a significant restructuring of its program divisions, which perform the bulk of the National Academies’ work to inform public policy through evidence-based advice. The restructuring is the result of a yearlong strategic analysis and a planning process overseen by a working group of Governing Board members with expertise and experience in organizational change. It also comes in the face of rapidly changing federal policies and budgets.

The National Academies announced a significant restructuring of its program divisions, which perform the bulk of the National Academies’ work to inform public policy through evidence-based advice. The restructuring is the result of a yearlong strategic analysis and a planning process overseen by a working group of Governing Board members with expertise and experience in organizational change. It also comes in the face of rapidly changing federal policies and budgets.
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