Ronald David Vale was given the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research in 2012. He is currently a Vice President of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Executive Director of its Janelia Research Campus. He was a Professor in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology, University of California at San Francisco, USA, where his laboratory studied molecular motors. Ron is also a Fellow of the American Academy of Sciences and the US National Academy of Sciences. In 2006, he established iBiology, a non-profit organization that produces and disseminates free online videos by leading biologists for the professional development for practicing scientists. In 2009, he established the Young Investigators’ Meeting in India, which provides a mentoring and networking workshop for postdocs and junior faculty in India. He founded ASAPbio (Accelerating Science and Publication in Biology) in 2015, promoting the use of preprints and an open and transparent peer-review process.
