An American biologist whose work has helped with the conservation of endangered species has been elected to the US National Academy of Sciences.

Russell Lande FRS, a Royal Society Research Professor at Imperial College London, is renowned for his work in theoretical population biology - both population genetics and population dynamics - and for its applications in conservation biology.

He is one of 84 scientists who were announced this week as new members of the National Academy of Sciences, in recognition of their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. Election to the Academy is one of the highest honours in US science.  

Professor Russell Lande FRS.

Professor Lande came to Imperial from the US in 2007, after holding Faculty positions at the Universities of Chicago, Oregon and California, San Diego.

His work has had numerous applications, and it is the basis for the modern IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List Criteria for classifying relative extinction risk. His expert testimony has underlain the way the US Endangered Species Act has been interpreted and implemented.

Early in his career, he pioneered the use of genetics to study the evolution of continuous traits (such as height or weight) in natural populations.

Professor Murray Selkirk, Head of the Department of Life Sciences, where Professor Lande is based, said: “'I am delighted that Russ has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences. He is a theoretical biologist who has done foundational work on the evolution of quantitative characters, conservation biology, and stochastic demography, and his election is in recognition of his pioneering contribution to these fields.”

In 2011 Professor Lande won the prestigious International Balzan Prize, which recognises 'outstanding initiatives of peace and brotherhood among peoples and foster their growth in the scientific and cultural world'. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2012.