UT Southwestern molecular biologist Kim Orth, Ph.D., elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Honor recognizes Dr. Orth’s pioneering research on basic biochemical mechanisms underlying many bacterial infections
DALLAS – April 24, 2026 – Kim Orth, Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry at UT Southwestern Medical Center and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, has been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the most prestigious honorary societies in the world.
The Academy was founded in 1780 on ideals that “celebrate the life of the mind, the importance of knowledge, and the belief that the arts and sciences are necessary to the interest, honor, dignity and happiness of a free, independent and virtuous people.” It has nearly 6,000 active members in academia, the arts, industry, journalism, philanthropy, policy, research, and science, including hundreds of Nobel Laureates and Pulitzer Prize winners.
The election of 252 new members for 2026 was announced in late April.
“I am honored to be elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and very proud of my lab and their efforts that make this recognition possible,” said Dr. Orth, who is also a member of the National Academy of Sciences. She holds the Earl A. Forsythe Chair in Biomedical Science and is a W.W. Caruth, Jr. Scholar in Biomedical Research.
Dr. Orth is internationally known for advancing the understanding of basic biochemical mechanisms underlying many bacterial infections. Her research, conducted over 25 years at UT Southwestern, has identified new ways that invading bacteria hijack and deregulate a cell’s signaling systems. By studying how pathogens manipulate host cells for their own benefit, the Orth Lab provides insights into bacteria that cause foodborne illnesses.
A study published in 2023 exemplified this focus by detailing how a bacterium that infects people after they eat raw or undercooked shellfish creates syringe-like structures to inject its toxins into intestinal cells. The findings, published in Nature Communications, provided a new understanding on how virulence systems are assembled by bacterial pathogens such as Vibrio parahaemolyticus.
Dr. Orth earned her Ph.D. at UT Southwestern and received further training in a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Michigan. She received a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Texas A&M University and a master’s degree in biological chemistry from UCLA. She joined the UTSW faculty in 2001.
Earlier honors include a Welch Foundation Norman Hackerman Award in Chemical Research (2010); an Edith and Peter O’Donnell Award in Science from the Texas Academy of Medicine, Engineering, Science and Technology (2011); awards from the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (2012, 2018, and 2026); and the American Society for Microbiology Award for Basic Research (2026).
With Dr. Orth’s election, there are now 12 UTSW faculty who are members of the Academy. They include Nobel Laureates Bruce Beutler, Ph.D., Director of the Center for the Genetics of Host Defense and Professor of Immunology and Internal Medicine; Michael Brown, Ph.D., Professor of Molecular Genetics and Internal Medicine and Director of the Erik Jonsson Center for Research in Molecular Genetics and Human Disease; and Joseph Goldstein, Ph.D., Chair and Professor of Molecular Genetics and Professor of Internal Medicine.
About UT Southwestern Medical Center
UT Southwestern, one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, integrates pioneering biomedical research with exceptional clinical care and education. The institution’s faculty members have received six Nobel Prizes and include 24 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 25 members of the National Academy of Medicine, and 13 Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigators. The full-time faculty of nearly 3,400 is responsible for groundbreaking medical advances and is committed to translating science-driven research quickly to new clinical treatments. UT Southwestern physicians in more than 80 specialties care for more than 143,000 hospitalized patients, attend to more than 470,000 emergency room cases, and oversee nearly 5.3 million outpatient visits a year.