Five UCSF Scientists Named National Science Fellows
Allan Basbaum Charles Craik Jason Cyster Rik Derynck Susan FisherFive UCSF researchers will be awarded the distinction of fellows by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) next month for their scientific research in areas ranging from immunology to stem cells.
The AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science as well as Science Translational Medicine and Science Signaling.
The fellows were announced in the AAAS News & Notes section of the journal Science this month and in a news release. New fellows will be recognized on Saturday, Feb. 19, during the 2011 AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.
This year, 503 members will be awarded this honor by AAAS because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.
The UCSF researchers were named fellows with the following distinctions:
- Allan Basbaum, PhD, chair of the Department of Anatomy: For distinguished contributions to scientific discourse and standards as editor of Genes & Development and as assistant director for academic affairs at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
- Charles S. Craik, PhD, professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and a faculty affiliate in the departments of Cellular and Molecular Pharmacology and Biochemistry and Biophysics: For pioneering contributions to the engineering and understanding of proteolytic enzymes.
- Jason G. Cyster, PhD, professor, Department of Microbiology and Immunology: For distinguished contributions to the field of immunology, particularly for defining mechanisms that organize lymphoid organs and promote lymphocyte egress from tissues.
- Rik Derynck, PhD, professor, departments of cell and tissue biology and anatomy: For distinguished contributions to the understanding of the biology of growth and differentiation factors, primarily transforming growth factors, and their mechanisms of signaling and action.
- Susan J. Fisher, PhD, professor, departments of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences and anatomy: For distinguished contributions to biological mass spectrometry, human reproduction (placentation in normal and abnormal pregnancy), human embryonic stem cell biology and science education of the public.
The tradition of AAAS fellows began in 1874 and is an honor bestowed upon members by their peers, according to the AAAS. Members can be considered for the honor if nominated by the steering groups of the association’s 24 sections, by any three fellows who are current AAAS members or by the AAAS chief executive officer. The AAAS Council, which is the policymaking body of the association, casts the final vote on the aggregate list of potential fellows.
The AAAS was founded in 1848, and serves 262 affiliated societies and academies of science and 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of 1 million. The nonprofit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to “advance science and serve society” through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education and more.