Southern Research leader Augelli-Szafran named 2024 National Academy of Inventors Fellow
BIRMINGHAM, AL. December 11, 2024 — Corinne Augelli-Szafran, PhD, of Southern Research has been named a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI), the organization announced on December 10th, 2024.
NAI Fellowship is the highest professional distinction awarded solely to inventors and this year’s class is composed of 170 exceptional individuals. The full list of 2024 Fellows can be found here.
The 2024 cohort of Fellows exemplifies the Academy’s belief that groundbreaking innovation knows no bounds and inventors can be found everywhere. This is evident in the fact that the honorees represent 39 U.S. states, 12 countries, and 43% identify as underrepresented inventors.
The 2024 Fellows hail from 135 research universities, governmental and non-profit research institutions worldwide and their work spans across various disciplines. They are not only phenomenal researchers holding prestigious honors and distinctions such as the Nobel Prize, U.S. National Medal of Technology and Innovation and National Medal of Science, and membership to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, but are also incredible inventors who collectively hold over 5,000 issued U.S. patents and whose innovations are making significant tangible societal and economic impacts today and will well into the future.
“This year’s Class of NAI Fellows represents a truly impressive caliber of inventors. Each of these individuals are tackling real-world issues and creating solutions that propel us into the future. Through their work, they are making significant contributions to science, creating lasting societal impact, and growing the economy,” said Dr. Paul Sanberg, FNAI, President of the NAI. “NAI Fellows as a whole are a driving force of innovation, generating crucial advancements across scientific disciplines and creating tangible impacts as they move their technologies from lab to marketplace. We are excited to welcome and honor this newest Class of Fellows during our 2025 Annual Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. I can think of no better group that exemplifies our conference theme, Forward Together: Innovating with Purpose.”
Since its founding in 2012, the NAI Fellows program has grown to include 2,068 exceptional researchers and innovators, who hold over 68,000 U.S. patents and 20,000 licensed technologies. NAI Fellows are known for the societal and economic impact of their inventions, contributing to major advancements in science and consumer technologies. Their innovations have generated over $3.2 trillion in revenue and generated 1.2 million jobs. The 2024 Class of Fellows will be honored and presented their medals by a senior official of the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) at the NAI 14th Annual Meeting on June 26th, 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Augelli-Szafran currently serves as Southern Research’s Vice President of Research Fellows. She has more than 35 years of drug discovery and leadership experience in pharma, academia and not-for-profit organizations. After 17 years at Parke-Davis/Pfizer, where she held a number of leadership roles mainly in the neurodegenerative field of study, she spent 8 years at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital building a drug discovery laboratory with a focus on novel Alzheimer disease therapies. Some of the current key research programs that involve Augelli-Szafran’s strategic oversight at Southern Research include new therapies for Cystic Fibrosis, antivirals, oncology, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, dermatology, and kidney disease. She is PI/MPI on several grants, including R01s, UG3/UH3, DoD and DTRA awards as well as NIAID Task Orders and Foundation funding. Augelli-Szafran has been a standing member on NIH grant review panels (NINDS) for 15 years, a reviewer for several journals and a mentor to several graduate and undergraduate students. Her scientific record includes more than 70 publications, 200 presentations and 45 issued and published patents. She received her BA in Biology from the University of Pennsylvania and her MS and PhD in Organic Chemistry from New York University.
“Dr. Augelli-Szafran is an extraordinary scientist who is very deserving of this honor from the NAI,” said R. Coleman Loper, Interim CEO of Southern Research. “She has made significant contributions in the search for effective therapies for diseases like Cystic Fibrosis, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s and is a highly valued member of our leadership team here at Southern Research. On behalf of our entire organization, I would like to congratulate and thank Corinne for her great work.”
# # #
About the National Academy of Inventors:
The National Academy of Inventors is a member organization comprising U.S. and international universities, and governmental and non-profit research institutes, with over 4,000 individual inventor members and Fellows spanning more than 250 institutions. It was founded in 2010 to recognize and encourage inventors with patents issued by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), enhance the visibility of academic technology and innovation, encourage the disclosure of intellectual property, educate and mentor innovative students, and translate the inventions of its members to benefit society. Inaugurated by the USPTO, the Academy and the USPTO have enjoyed a collaborative partnership. Most recently this has been reflected in their joint mission to expand access to underrepresented individuals and institutions participating in the invention and innovation ecosystem. www.academyofinventors.org.
