76 Nobel Laureates Endorse Obama for President

Two UCSF Nobel laureates have joined 74 other Nobel Prize-winning scientific colleagues in signing a letter supporting Senator Barack Obama for president of the United States. UCSF Chancellor Mike Bishop, MD, and Stanley Prusiner, MD, director of the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases and professor of neurology and biochemistry, signed their names as individual citizens. Their views do not necessarily represent the views of the University of California. In the open letter [PDF] to the American people, the Nobel laureates – who won the award in physiology or medicine, chemistry, or physics – say that “the country needs a visionary leader who can ensure the future of our traditional strengths in science and technology and who can harness those strengths to address many of our greatest problems: energy, disease, climate change, security and economic competitiveness. “We are convinced that Senator Barack Obama is such a leader, and we urge you to join us in supporting him,” the letter states. According to the letter, the nation’s top scientists have watched Obama’s approach to these challenges with admiration. “We especially applaud his emphasis during the campaign on the power of science and technology to enhance our nation’s competitiveness. In particular, we support the measures he plans to take – through new initiatives in education and training, expanded research funding, an unbiased process for obtaining scientific advice, and an appropriate balance of basic and applied research – to meet the nation’s and the world’s most urgent needs.” The Bush administration came under fire from the scientific community for decreasing federal support for research and for alleged distortion of the government’s scientific advisory process. Last year, former US Surgeon General Richard Carmona, MD, MPH, a 1979 graduate of the UCSF School of Medicine, criticized the Bush administration for stifling scientific research. In 2004, 48 Nobel laureates endorsed Senator John Kerry for president.