These are some of the honors recently given to the faculty of NYU Langone Health:
Pioneering NYU Langone Scientist Named to National Academy of Inventors
NYU Langone’s chief scientific officer, Dafna Bar-Sagi, PhD, has been named to the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) for pioneering discoveries that have advanced cancer biology and biomedical innovation. Dr. Bar-Sagi, who also serves as NYU Langone’s executive vice president and vice dean for science, joins the 2025 class of NAI Fellows, the highest professional distinction for academic inventors.
“Innovation is the driving force behind progress in science and medicine,” said Dr. Bar-Sagi. “This honor reflects the exceptional ecosystem at NYU Langone Health, where a culture of innovation and collaboration fosters breakthroughs in research and patient care. I am privileged to contribute to this shared mission.”
Much of Dr. Bar-Sagi’s scientific work has centered on the RAS family of genes, which govern how cells grow and divide and are among the most frequently mutated drivers of human cancers.
Dr. Bar-Sagi is the named inventor on six U.S. patents. These cover innovations ranging from modulators of RAS protein signaling to targeted cancer diagnostics and monobody–drug conjugates—small, engineered proteins paired with a cancer-fighting drug. These conjugates act like a custom-designed key that locks onto specific features of a tumor cell, delivering the drug directly where it’s needed while sparing healthy tissue.
Beyond her own discoveries, Dr. Bar-Sagi has helped build the institutional infrastructure that drives NYU Langone’s scientific enterprise. Under her leadership, research funding has grown substantially; invention disclosures, licensing activity, and startup formation have expanded; and programs supporting translational research have flourished.
“Dr. Bar-Sagi has an extraordinary ability to turn fundamental insights into practical solutions with the goal of improving patient care,” says Marc Sedam, vice president of NYU’s Technology Opportunities and Ventures (TOV), which translates the outputs of the university’s $1.5 billion research enterprise into products that maximize societal and economic impact. “Her inventions show the promise to treat challenging cancers in a novel way, improving options for patients. The ability to view research as part of the path from bench to bedside is the hallmark of a true inventor.”
The NAI induction ceremony will be held on June 4, 2026, in Los Angeles.
