Skip to main content

Eight Faculty Elected to AAAS

Eight Duke faculty have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
(AAAS). They are recognized for scientifically or
socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. Three of Duke's new fellows are from the Department of Molecular
Genetics and Microbiology, and three are department chairs.

"All of these individuals are world-class
scientists, who have made discoveries that drive their fields forward," said
Nancy Andrews, M.D., dean of the Duke University School of Medicine. "With this
honor, they join a very distinguished group of scientific leaders. We are very
fortunate to have so many people of this caliber on our faculty."

"These are all outstanding scientists whom we are
proud to have as colleagues," said Sally Kornbluth, Ph.D., vice dean for basic science
at Duke University School of Medicine. "They are also terrific citizens and
leaders who make important contributions to the life of the Duke
community."

This year's new AAAS fellows are:

Richard Brennan, Ph.D., chair of the Duke
Department of Biochemistry, for distinguished contributions in the area of structural
biology and his work deciphering mechanisms of gene expression and multi-drug
resistance. 

Bryan Cullen, Ph.D., professor of molecular
genetics and microbiology, for distinguished contributions to the field of virology, particularly
for studies on human immunodeficiency virus and the role of microRNAs in viral
pathogenesis.

Ingrid Daubechies, Ph.D., James B. Duke Professor of Mathematics, for her seminal work in wavelets, as well as significant contributions in the area of signal processing, quantum mechanics, discrete geometry, and applied mathematics.

Xinnian Dong, Ph.D., professor of biology, for her research on the interactions of plants and microbes, and for her outstanding service to the American Society of Plant Biologists and the journal Plant Cell.

Mariano Garcia-Blanco, M.D., Ph.D., professor of medicine and professor of molecular genetics and microbiology, for distinguished contributions in RNA biology, and particularly for unraveling the importance of RNA-protein interactions that regulate messenger RNA splicing and control pathogenic RNA viruses.

Dan Kiehart, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Biology, for his contributions to developmental biology through detailed study of the embryonic development of fruitflies.

Sue
Jinks-Robertson, Ph.D.
, professor of molecular genetics and microbiology, for
distinguished contributions to the fields of genetics and molecular biology,
particularly for advancing the understanding of basic mechanisms of mutagenesis
and homologous recombination of chromosomes.

Donald McDonnell, Ph.D., Glaxo-Wellcome Professor
of Molecular and Cellular Biology and chair of the Duke Department of
Pharmacology and Cancer Biology, for research that has provided fundamental insights
into the molecular mechanisms underlying the pharmacological activities of
nuclear receptor ligands in physiology and disease.

In a February 2012 ceremony, 539 new members will
receive this honor. The AAAS is the world’s
largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science, among other journals.