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2008 Commencement Speaker / 2008 Honorary Degree Recepient Thomas D. Pollard, M.D.
Pollard's state-of-the-art research combines microscopy, biochemistry, biophysics, molecular biology, and genetics to formulate a detailedmolecular explanation of cellular motility--the ability of cells to propel themselves around the body. This rapidly growing specialty has relevance to a broadrange of biomedical concerns, including immune reactions, chronicinflammation, cancer metastasis, and wound healing. Pollard's interests include actinpolymerization, which allows cells to propel in a desired direction, andthe interaction of actins with a cellular protein known as myosin, which converts chemical to mechanical energy. His group is now applying the sophisticated techniques he helped pioneer to the study of cell division. Pollard earned his B.A. cum laude from Pomona College in 1964and his M.D. cum laude from Harvard Medical School in 1968. He completed his medicalinternship at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. After beginning his career atthe National Heart and Lung Institute, he served for six years on thefaculty of Harvard Medical School. In 1977 Pollard was named the Bayard Halsted Professor and Director of the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. During his 19-year tenure at Johns Hopkins, he founded its graduate program in cellular and molecular medicine and won eight teaching awards. From 2001 to 2005, Pollard was Eugene Higgins Professor ofMolecular Cellular & Developmental Biology and of Cell Biology, Yale University. Since 2004 he has served as chair of Yale's Department of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology. He was named the Sterling Professor in 2006. Pollard was president of both the American Society for Cell Biology and the Biophysical Society and has held leadership positions at the National Academy of Sciences. He is a member of the Institute of Medicineand the American Academy of Arts andSciences. He has received the Gairdner International Award in Biomedical Sciences, the E.B. Wilson Award from the American Society for Cell Biology, the Rosenstiel Award for Basic Biomedical Research from Brandeis University (with James Spudich), the Ricketts Award from the University of Chicago, and the Public ServiceAward from the Biophysical Society. Dedicated to disseminating knowledge to his scientific peers, Pollard has delivered numerous lectures at the nation's leading academic and medical institutions. He has served on the editorial boards of numerous peer-reviewed journals, the Medical Advisory Board of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and the Joint Steering Committee for Public Policy. Pollard has published more than 230 original studies, is the author of more than 120 reviews and invited chapters, and is the co-author of the highly respected Cell Biology. The University is proud to honor Pollard today for his pioneering research and his selfless commitment to educating and mentoring the next generation of scientists. |
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Recent technological advances have opened up new vistas in biomedical science, dramatically expanding core knowledge while offering unprecedented potential to improve human health. The work of Thomas D. Pollard, the Sterling Professor and Chair of Molecular Cellular and Developmental Biology at Yale University, exemplifies this exciting trend. His trailblazing studies have contributed extraordinary insights into some of the most fundamental yet mysterious processes of cellular biology--discoveries that could ultimately pave the way for new therapies for cancer and other conditions. In respectful recognition of his distinguished contributions to this important field, the University of Miami today awards Pollard the degree of Doctor of Science, honoris causa.