NSU Professor Honored with The Explorers Club Prestigious Lowell Thomas Award

By Press release submission

Oct 10, 2022

Dr. Stephen J. O’Brien Honored for Research in Genetics

Nova Southeastern University (NSU) is proud to announce that earlier this month, one of its own – Stephen J O’Brien, Ph.D. – was honored with The Explorers Club’s 2022 Lowell Thomas Award. This prestigious award, named for broadcast journalist and explorer Lowell Thomas, is given thematically to a group of outstanding explorers to recognize excellence in domains or fields of exploration.

“We don’t go into our field for awards, it’s the work and expanding our knowledge of our world that is most rewarding,” said O’Brien. “Being recognized for what we do is a tremendous honor, and I am proud to be part of this year’s honorees.”

The Lowell Thomas Award is given out by The Explorers Club, which as established in 1904 with the goal of promoting scientific exploration and field study. It was founded in New York City, where it is still located, and serves as a meeting point for explorers and scientists worldwide.

Every year the awards center on a theme (Space Exploration, Exploring Climate Change, etc.), and this year, the awards celebrate those individuals who “exhibit excellence in Conservation Genetics and are probing the very DNA of life.” O’Brien will join the other honorees at a celebration hosted by the Club’s New England chapter, scheduled from Sept. 30 – Oct. 2 in Boston, Massachusetts.

According to The Explorer’s Club, O’Brien is being honored for “his pivotal role in establishing the discipline of Conservation Genetics, as well as associated disciplines of Genetic Epidemiology, Comparative Genomics, Emerging Infections and Diseases, Genome Bioinformatics, and the very ingredients to preserve and better understand the risks to endangered and threatened species.”

“Dr. O’Brien is a recognized leader in his field and has made significant contributions to the scientific community, and is truly deserving of this honor,” said Dr. George Hanbury, NSU’s President and CEO. “When looking at the of past winners of the Lowell Thomas Award, Dr. O’Brien is joining a preeminent exclusive club.”

The Lowell Thomas Award was first given out in 1980. Over the years recipients included Isaac Asimov, Sylvia A. Earle, Carl Sagan, Sir David Attenborough, Robert D. Ballard and Jean-Michel Cousteau.

This isn’t the first time Dr. O’Brien has received a preeminent honor – in 2018 he was also elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences.

When it comes to research, O’Brien is well known among his peers. His career spans several decades, going back to his tenure as the Chief of the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity at the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 1986-2011. He created then joined the Theodosius Dobzhansky Center for Genome Bioinformatics in St. Petersburg State University (Russia) in December 2011, where he served as its Chief Scientific Officer. In 2012, he joined the NSU Halmos College of Arts and Sciences faculty as a professor in the Oceanographic Center.

His research interests and expertise span human and comparative genomics, genetic epidemiology, HIV/AIDS, retro-virology, bioinformatics biodiversity and species conservation. Some of his most well-known work involves genetic research into endangered wildlife species, including: African cheetahs and lions; Asian tigers and giant pandas; humpback whales; and most recently, the white and black rhinoceros.