M. Joycelyn Elders, M.D.

Surgeon General of the United States, 1993-1994

Dr. Elders was the first person in the state of Arkansas to become board certified in pediatric endocrinology, the fifteenth Surgeon General of the United States and the first African American, and only the second woman to head the U.S. Public Health Service. Long an outspoken advocate of public health, Dr. Elders was appointed Surgeon General by President Clinton in 1993. In 1996, she wrote her autobiography, Joycelyn Elders, M.D.: From Sharecropper’s Daughter to Surgeon General of the United States of America. Now retired from practice, she is a professor emeritus at the University of Arkansas School of Medicine and remains active in public health education.

Mario Capecchi, Ph.D.

Science Director, National Academy of Future Physicians and Medical Scientists
Winner, 2007 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
Winner, 2003 Wolf Prize in Medicine
Winner, 2001 Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research
Recipient, 2001 National Medal of Science

Dr. Capecchi, a biophysicist, is a Distinguished Professor of Human Genetics at the University of Utah School of Medicine. He is best known for his groundbreaking work in gene targeting in mouse embryo-derived stem cells. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine, along with Martin Evans and Oliver Smithies, for their work in finding ways to manipulate the mammalian genome by inserting new genes into cells. This research led to the breeding of “knock-out mice” and “knock-in mice,” animals with a single gene removed or inserted. His research interests include analysis of early mouse development, neural development in mammals, gene therapy, and production of murine models of human genetic diseases.