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A leader in broadly neutralizing antibodies, Burton has helped drive global efforts to develop vaccines for HIV, influenza and more. May 01, 2026 LA JOLLA, CA—Dennis Burton, professor and the James & Jessie Minor Chair in Immunology at Scripps Research, has been elected to the 2026 class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies. Burton is widely recognized as a pioneer in the discovery and development of broadly neutralizing antibodies: rare immune proteins capable of targeting diverse strains of viruses. This approach is helping address some of the most challenging infectious diseases, including HIV, influenza and coronaviruses. By isolating and characterizing these antibodies, Burton and his collaborators have laid the groundwork for next-generation vaccines designed to elicit similarly broad and durable immune responses. A central focus of Burton’s research has been HIV, where he has played a leading role in advancing antibody-based vaccine strategies. He is a director in the Center for HIV/AIDS Vaccine Development (CHAVD), a global initiative aimed at accelerating the design of an effective HIV vaccine. Burton is also the scientific director of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) Neutralizing Antibody Consortium (NAC), helping translate antibody discoveries into clinical candidates and move promising vaccine concepts from the lab toward human trials. This year, Burton joins 24 other Scripps Research faculty who have previously been named members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The Academy, founded in 1780, is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States and is unique in the breadth of its members and the scope of its work, spanning science, art, mathematics and nearly every subject. Since its creation, it has gathered individuals with diverse perspectives to focus on both scholarly and policy issues. Its members have included figures such as Benjamin Franklin, Martin Luther King Jr., Madeleine Albright and Jennifer Doudna. “We celebrate the achievement of each new member and the collective breadth and depth of their excellence – this is a fitting commemoration of the nation’s 250th anniversary,” says Academy President Laurie Patton. “The founding of the nation and the Academy are rooted in the inextricable links between a vibrant democracy, the free pursuit of knowledge, and the expansion of the public good.” Burton is invited to the 2026 Induction of new members, held in October 2026 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. For more information, contact press@scripps.edu See More News

May 01, 2026 Benjamin Cravatt, the Gilula Chair of Chemical Biology and a professor of chemistry at Scripps Research, has been elected to the American Philosophical Society (APS), one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. Cravatt joins a distinguished cohort of members spanning disciplines across STEM and the humanities. The APS was founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin to bring together creative thinkers in the sciences and other fields of study for the purpose of “promoting useful knowledge.” According to the APS, only 5,896 members have been elected since the society’s founding, and today there are approximately 1,000 members. Last year, Scripps Research partnered with the APS to host events related to the Society’s annual General Meeting. Other notable members of the APS have included George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Albert Einstein and Charles Darwin. Cravatt is the fourth scientist from Scripps Research to be elected. Across biomedicine, Cravatt has redefined how scientists study and target disease-relevant proteins. This includes developing activity-based protein profiling (ABPP): a method that captures the activity and drug interactions of proteins on a global scale, from cells to whole organisms. ABPP has enabled the discovery of inhibitors and drug candidates that have advanced to clinical trials for treating various conditions, ranging from neurodegeneration to different forms of cancer. Cravatt has also founded numerous biotech companies, including Activx Biosciences (acquired by Kyorin Pharmaceuticals), Abide Therapeutics (acquired by Lundbeck Pharmaceuticals) and Vividion Therapeutics (acquired by Bayer). Prior honors bestowed on Cravatt include election to the National Academy of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, as well as the AACR Award for Achievement in Chemistry in Cancer Research, the ASBMB Merck Award, the Bristol Myers Squibb Award for Enzyme Chemistry, the Cope Scholar Award, the Eli Lilly Prize in Biological Chemistry, the Heinrich Wieland Prize, the Jeremy Knowles Award from the Royal Society of Chemistry, the R35 Outstanding Investigator Award from the National Cancer Institute, the Searle Scholar Award, the Tetrahedron Prize for Creativity in Bioorganic and Medicinal Chemistry, the William H. Nichols Medal from the New York Local Section of the American Chemical Society and the Wolf Prize in Chemistry. For more information, contact press@scripps.edu See More News

Yu is recognized for his pioneering work in synthetic organic chemistry. April 28, 2026 LA JOLLA, CA—Scripps Research chemist Jin-Quan Yu has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), one of the highest honors a scientist can achieve. The NAS recently announced the election of 120 U.S. members and 25 international members for their significant and sustained contributions to original research. With this year’s election, the NAS now includes 2,705 active members and 557 international members. Yu, the Bristol Myers Squibb Endowed Chair in Chemistry and the Frank and Bertha Hupp Professor of Chemistry, is widely known for his innovations in synthetic organic chemistry. His research focuses on carbon–hydrogen (C–H) bond activation, a method that allows chemists to selectively transform C–H bonds, which are among the most common but least reactive chemical bonds in organic molecules. Because C–H bonds are difficult to target with precision, Yu has developed new catalysts and reaction strategies that help chemists control where these transformations occur. Most notably, he has developed the first generation of chiral catalysts to perform enantioselective C–H activation to create single-handed molecules. These advances have made it easier to construct and modify complex molecules, including those with potential applications in medicine, agriculture and materials science. For example, a recent paper from his lab demonstrated a method that uses a novel catalyst and inexpensive fluoride salts to modify the most common chemical bonds, opening doors to new medicines and improved medical imaging. Yu has received numerous honors for his scientific contributions, including the Akira Suzuki Award, the Award for Creativity in Molecular Design and Synthesis from the American Chemical Society, a MacArthur Fellowship (also referred to as a “genius grant”), and election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. For more information, contact press@scripps.edu See More News