Harold Amos
(September 7, 1918 – February 26, 2003)
Microbiologist, Professor
First African-American to Chair Harvard Medical School
Public Welfare Medal Award -1995
The Harold Amos Diversity Award has been established by Harvard Medical School to recognize HMS/HSDM faculty (clinical, pre-clinical, research, administrative) who have made significant achievements in moving HMS/HSDM toward being a diverse and inclusive community.
Amos pioneering accomplishments in his field. He was known for his work in animal cell culture, bacterial metabolism and virology, specializing in cell metabolism. In 1958 he discovered that a compound, found in the carrier of genetic information—DNA—is also present in ribonucleic acid, or RNA.