Pope appoints three new members to Pontifical Academy of Sciences

By Vatican News staff reporter

Pope Francis on Saturday appointed three new illustrious members to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, including 2011 Nobel laureate in medicine, Jules A. Hoffmann, professor of Biologie intégrative at the Institut d'Études Avancées de l'Université de Strasbourg, France.

Dr. Hoffmann is also a professor emeritus at the Université de Strasbourg and research director emeritus of the Centre national de la recherche scientifique in France. Born on 2 August 1941 in Echternach, Luxembourg, Dr. Hoffmann has received numerous honors and awards for his work in biology, especially the immune system of the human body.

The Pope also appointed Professor Masashi Mizokami, director of the Genome Medical Sciences Project at the National Center for Global Health and Medicine in Japan, to the Academy.

Born on 25 February 1948 in Saga, Japan, he received his doctorate in medicine from Nagoya City University Medical School. He taught clinical genetics at the same university and has served as director general of the Research Center for Hepatitis and Immunology at the National Center for Global Health and Medicine, where he is currently director of the Genome Medical Sciences Project. He has received numerous scientific awards, including the Research Award from the Viral Hepatitis Research Foundation of Japan and the Hakoneyama Award from the International Cooperation Medical Research Promotion Foundation.

The third newly appointed member is Tebello Nyokong, Professor of Chemistry and Director of the Institute for Nanotechnology Innovation at Rhodes University, South Africa.

Born on 20 October 1951 in Maseru, Lesotho, Dr. Nyokong studied Chemistry and Biology at the National University of Lesotho. After receiving her Master's degree in Chemistry from McMaster University, Canada, in 1981, she received her doctorate in the same discipline from the University of Western Ontario, also in Canada, in 1987. She has received numerous honors and awards, including the Order of Mapungubwe, and the Gold Medal of the South African Chemical Institute.