Eric Olson received his B.A. in chemistry and biology from Wake Forest University in 1977 and his Ph.D. in biochemistry at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine of Wake Forest University in 1981. After a postdoctoral fellowship at Washington University School of Medicine, he joined the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center as an Assistant Professor in 1984 where he rose to the rank of Professor and Chairman in 1991. In 1995, he moved to The University of Texas Department of Molecular Biology. He holds the Robert A. Welch Distinguished Chair in Chemistry.
Dr. Olson's previous honors include the Edgar Haber Cardiovascular Research Award, the Founding Distinguished Scientist Award and the Basic Research Prize from the American Heart Association, the Gill Heart Institute Award for Outstanding Contributions to Cardiovascular Medicine, the Pasarow Award in Cardiovascular Diseases. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Olson is the Editor-in-Chief of Developmental Biology, a member of numerous editorial boards and the Scientific Review Board of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and serves as a scientific advisor to Myogen, Inc. a biotechnology company that he co-founded. He has documented his research in more than 300 scientific publications.
