Researchers named senior members of the National Academy of Inventors

Three longtime ECU faculty members have been named to the 2026 class of senior members of the National Academy of Inventors, joining more than 30 colleagues and researchers at the university who hold membership in the prestigious organization.

Colin S. Burns, a chemistry professor; Allison S. Danell, a former chemistry professor and former dean of the Thomas Harriot College of Arts and Sciences; and Jitka Virag, a physiology professor at the Brody School of Medicine, are members of the NAI’s latest cohort, its largest to date. Exactly 230 emerging inventors representing 82 member institutions worldwide count themselves among the 2026 class. Collectively, it holds more than 2,000 U.S. patents.

Danell and Burns are listed on a patent with Rukiyah Van Dross-Anderson and Daniel Ladin that describes an immunotherapeutic to treat melanoma and colon cancer. Virag has three patents related to cardiovascular and blood health.

Launched in 2018, the NAI senior member program recognizes active faculty, scientists and administrators who have achieved success in innovation and who, through their work, support a culture of discovery and entrepreneurship at their institutions.

An induction recognition at the 15th Annual Conference of the National Academy of Inventors was June 1-4 in Los Angeles.