W. Ian Lipkin Named National Academy of Inventors Fellow

Today the National Academy of Inventors (NAI) announced that W. Ian Lipkin, director of the Center for Infection and Immunity (CII) and John Snow Professor of Epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, was named an NAI Fellow, in recognition of his technical achievements in spearheading the development of novel technologies for infectious disease diagnosis, surveillance, and discovery, in service of public health.

“This prestigious honor recognizes your exceptional achievements as an inventor—your contributions have made a significant impact on innovation, economic development, and society’s welfare,” wrote NAI President Paul R. Sanberg in a congratulatory message, which adds, “Your election to the rank of Fellow reflects not only your accomplishments but also your dedication to advancing technology and fostering invention for the benefit of society.”

Lipkin—known as the “master virus hunter” for his role in the discovery of more than 2,500 microbes and counting—together with colleagues at CII has been at the forefront of developing tools for microbial discovery and diagnosis commonly used in detecting and controlling infectious diseases in humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. They pioneered the use of purely molecular methods (subtractive cloning), pan-microbial arrays, and next-generation sequencing in pathogen surveillance and discovery. They developed novel capture sequencing technologies for viruses, bacteria, and agents of tick-borne disease; VirCapSeq was highlighted by Scientific American magazine as a “World Changing Idea” in 2015. Lipkin and colleagues also developed diagnostic and therapeutic technologies for SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19.

Lipkin and his cohort of 2024 National Academy of Inventors Fellows will be formally inducted at the 14th NAI Annual Conference, held June 23-26, 2025, in Atlanta. 

On September 16, Lipkin was honored with the Order of the Polar Star—the highest civilian award Mongolia presents to foreign citizens. Earlier this year, on April 5, he was feted at an all-day symposium marking his 40th year in research, 50th year in medicine.