About Us

Bruce Alberts, a respected biochemist with a strong commitment to the improvement of science and mathematics education, is a member of the faculty of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at UC San Francisco. Alberts returned to the university in 2005 after serving two six-year terms as the president of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS).

During his tenure at the NAS, Alberts was instrumental in developing the landmark National Science Education standards that have been implemented in school systems nationwide. He initiated the Academy's Teaching About Evolution and the Nature of Science, a book that aims to help US science teachers improve the teaching of the fundamental principles of biology. Alberts is one of the original authors of The Molecular Biology of the Cell, a preeminent textbook in the field, now in its fourth edition. As president of NAS, Alberts also served as chair of the National Research Council, an operating arm of the National Academies that conducts independent science, engineering, and health policy studies. For the period 2000 to 2009, he serves as the co-chair of the InterAcademy Council, a new organization in Amsterdam governed by the presidents of 15 national academies of sciences and established to provide scientific advice to the world.

Alberts served as a faculty member in Princeton University's Department of Chemistry from 1966 to 1971 and in the Department of Biochemical Sciences from 1971 to 1976. In 1976, Alberts was appointed as professor and vice chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at UC San Francisco. He held the American Cancer Society Lifetime Research Professorship at UC San Francisco from 1981 to 1985, when he became chair of the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics.

Widely recognized for his work in the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology, Alberts has earned many honors and awards, including 14 honorary degrees. He currently serves on the advisory boards of more than 10 nonprofit institutions. He is an Overseer at Harvard University, a Trustee of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, and the President-elect of the American Society of Cell Biology.

Alberts received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College and a Ph.D. from Harvard University.