The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has elected Kelsey Martin, Executive Vice President of Autism and Neuroscience at the Simons Foundation, to its 2024 class of new members. This prestigious honor recognizes Martin’s outstanding contributions to original research, alongside 120 national and 24 international members being honored this year.
As a private nonprofit organization established in 1863 under a congressional charter, the NAS elects scientists to its membership based on peer recognition. In conjunction with the National Academy of Engineering and the National Academy of Medicine, the academy provides science, engineering, and health policy advice to the federal government and other organizations.
Martin took up her role at the Simons Foundation in September 2021, where she leads the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) and neuroscience collaborations. Prior to joining the foundation, Martin held positions at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), serving as dean of the David Geffen School of Medicine, chair of the UCLA Department of Biological Chemistry, and professor in the Department of Biological Chemistry and the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences.
During her tenure as dean, Martin launched innovative programs in precision health and computational medicine while leading interdisciplinary research initiatives that bridged basic and clinical research. Her research focused on long-term synaptic plasticity and memory regulation in neurons responding to experience. Martin’s lab made significant discoveries related to signaling molecules involved in synaptic transmission and translation mechanisms affecting synapse formation and plasticity.