Beatrice H. Hahn, MD, a professor of Medicine and Microbiology in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, has been elected as a new member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation's most prestigious honorary societies and a leading center for independent policy research.

She joins 25 other previously elected Penn Medicine experts.

Members of the 2016 class include winners of the Pulitzer Prize, Wolf Prize, MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellowships, the Fields Medal, the Grammy Award, and the National Book Award.

A native of Germany, Hahn is recognized for her work deciphering the primate origins of human AIDS viruses and malaria parasites. She is known in particular for developing non-invasive methods to study the evolution, biology, and potential of microbes that infect endangered primate species to be transmitted to humans.

Her influential contributions in understanding human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections include developing the first molecular clone of HIV-1, discovering the origins of HIV-1 and HIV-2 in non-human primate species in Africa, determining the pathogenic impact of simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) infection on wild chimpanzee populations, and making fundamental observations in the molecular and virologic characterization of numerous HIV and SIV genes and strains. Hahn’s most recent work describes ground-breaking studies identifying the origin of the most deadly form of malaria in West African gorillas, findings that will prompt new research to understand host/pathogen interactions that underlie the transmission and pathogenicity of malaria.

Hahn has published over 300 papers and is a member of many advisory boards, including the HIV/AIDS Program of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. She also served on the NIH Council of Councils Working Group on the Use of Chimpanzees in NIH-Supported Research. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, a member of the National Academy of Medicine, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences. In 2002, she was named one of the top 50 women in science by Discover Magazine. 

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