First woman dean of Duke University awarded 2010 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science

Nancy Andrews, M.D., Ph.D., a groundbreaking researcher and the first woman dean of Duke University School of Medicine, has been awarded the 2010 Vanderbilt Prize in Biomedical Science.

The prize, established by Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in 2006, honors nationally known women scientists who have "a stellar record of research accomplishments" and who have contributed significantly to the mentorship of other women in science.

Andrews, who also is vice chancellor for Academic Affairs and professor of Pediatrics, Pharmacology and Cancer Biology at Duke, will receive the prize on March 31, 2011, when she is scheduled to give a Vanderbilt Discovery Lecture.

"This is our fifth Vanderbilt Prize," said Susan Wente, Ph.D., associate vice chancellor for Research and senior associate dean for Biomedical Sciences at Vanderbilt. "The continued support of this very innovative national prize shows public evidence of the value Vanderbilt places on discovery research, mentoring and women scientists."

Prize winners receive a $25,000 award, and also serve as mentors to women who are pursuing graduate studies in the biomedical sciences at the School of Medicine. This year's student scholar will be selected in early 2011.

Andrews received her Ph.D. in biology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1985, and her M.D. from Harvard Medical School two years later. After completing her residency and fellowship in pediatrics and hematology/oncology at Children's Hospital Boston and the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, she joined the Harvard faculty in 1991.

Andrews has made major contributions to understanding disorders of mammalian iron homeostasis, including iron deficiency and genetic hemochromatosis.

Before moving to Duke in 2007, she also served as director of the Harvard/MIT M.D.-Ph.D. program and as dean for basic sciences and graduate studies at Harvard Medical School.

Andrews is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is a former Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, and was the 2009 president of the American Society of Clinical Investigation.

For a list of previous winners and the 2011 nomination form, go to https://medschool.vanderbilt.edu/dean and click on "Vanderbilt Prize."