Rios elected to Sigma Xi Honor Society
Adan Rios, MD, professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, has been elected as a member of the Sigma Xi Honor Society, and as a board member for the society’s Texas Medical Center Chapter.
“I have been arduously working for years on the development of an inactivated HIV vaccine,” Rios said. “This honor reminds me of a quote from Dr. Jonas Salk who said, ‘I feel the greatest reward for doing is the opportunity to do more.’”
Founded in 1886 at Cornell University, membership to the Sigma Xi Honor Society is achieved only through election, and is based on achievement and/or future research potential.
Rios is internationally renowned for his work in HIV-associated malignancies and the treatment of tumors with biological response modifiers. He is a general oncologist with a special interest in lymphoma, leukemia, and immune-compromised related malignancies.
Rios’ work has been recognized with a multitude of awards and distinctions, including the 2001 University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center Distinguished Alumnus Award, the 2003 George Washington University Presidential Medal Award, and the 2008 UTHealth Houston Science Center Minority Services Award.
In June, Rios received the General Victoriano Lorenzo Medal of Honor in his home country of Panama. The award honors Panamanian heroes of the Independence of Panama from Colombia who distinguish themselves for their humble origins and dedication to the indigenous and rural populations of Panama. Rios was presented the award by President of Panama Laurentino Cortizo Cohen for his role in founding a nursing school in a rural area of the country, where there was no availability of such education, and for his work with an international conference of medicine that brought some of the best scientific minds from the United States to Panama for more than a decade.
Sigma Xi is the international honor society of science and engineering. One of the oldest and largest scientific organizations in the world, Sigma Xi has a distinguished history of service to science and society for more than 125 years. Sigma Xi chapters can be found at colleges and universities, government laboratories, and industry research centers around the world, and more than 200 Nobel Prize winners have been members.
The society has nearly 60,000 scientists and engineers belonging to more than 500 Sigma Xi chapters. In addition to publishing the award-winning American Scientist magazine, Sigma Xi sponsors various programs in support of research ethics, science and engineering education, public understanding of science, international research cooperation, and the general health of the research activity.