Kabanov to Lead Russian-American Science Society
December 13, 2017
Eshelman School of Pharmacy
Alexander “Sasha” Kabanov is the president-elect of the Russian-American Science Association.
Kabanov was elected to his new post at the organization’s annual meeting at Northwestern University in Chicago on Nov. 4 and 5, where he also received the George Gamow Award for his work in drug delivery. He is the Mescal Swaim Ferguson Distinguished Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Eshelman School of Pharmacy, director of the School’s Center for Nanotechnology in Drug Delivery and co-director of the Carolina Institute for Nanomedicine.
Kabanov will take office as president of the association one year from now and will serve a two-year term. He previously served as a member of the coordinating committee of RASA-USA and the international coordinating committee that unified RASA-Asia, RASA-Europe and RASA-USA. Kabanov said he his humbled by the decision of his colleagues to make him president and does not want to let them down.
The George Gamow Award went to Kabanov for his “cycle of works that initiated the use of polymeric nano-materials for the delivery of drugs and nucleic acids to the cell.” Kabanov received a recognition plaque and $3,000 and said he was pleased to be recognized by the award named after George Gamow, who had a role in the development of the Big Bang theory, among other accomplishments.
“Russian-speaking scientific diaspora is unique and very significant from the standpoint of technology, quality of human material, education and science,” Kabanov said. “Therefore, I believe in the need and opportunities in promoting the mission and ideas of this group that are important to American scientists and our country overall.”
RASA-USA is an international nonprofit, nongovernmental organization aimed at preserving and improving the common intellectual and cultural space of the Russian-speaking academic community by bringing together scientists who were educated in the former Soviet Union and are now working in U.S. laboratories. This year’s meeting was attended by the Russian ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, along with 100 or so other Russian-speaking scientists from the U.S. and former Soviet Union.