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Six From Duke Named Fellows of American Association for Advancement of Science

Honor recognizes significant contributions to one's field

Clockwise from upper left: Bates, Chakrabarty, Luftig, Steinbach, Tomaras, Wray.
Clockwise from upper left: Bates, Chakrabarty, Luftig, Steinbach, Tomaras, Wray.

Five members of the Duke University faculty and one staff member have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

They are among 416 new fellows this year who are being recognized for scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. They are:

-- Krishnendu “Krish” Chakrabarty, Ph.D., the William H. Younger professor of engineering and chair of the department of electrical and computer engineering. He has been recognized by the engineering section of AAAS for his contributions to the design of microfluidic biochips and system-on-chip integrated circuits, and for extraordinary technical leadership and mentoring of graduate students

-- Micah A. Luftig, Ph.D., associate professor of molecular genetics and microbiology and medicine. He has been elected by the biological sciences division for his contributions to the field of viral oncology for his work on the Epstein-Barr virus, particularly for studies of the temporal regulation of viral-induced cancers.          

-- William J. Steinbach, M.D., professor of pediatrics and chief of the division of pediatric infectious diseases. He has been recognized by the medical sciences division for his contributions to the field of fungal molecular pathogenesis and invasive fungal infection epidemiology, diagnosis and management, particularly for aspergillosis disease and pediatric patients.     

-- Georgia D. Tomaras, Ph.D., professor in surgery and molecular genetics and microbiology, and director of research in the Duke Human Vaccine Institute. She has been elected by the division of biological sciences for contributions to the field of microbiology and immunology, particularly for mechanisms of protective immunity in HIV infection.

-- Gregory A. Wray, Ph.D., professor of biology and director of the Center for Genomic and Computational Biology. He has been recognized by the division of biological sciences for his contributions to the evolution and mechanisms of development, using sea urchins and primates as model systems.

-- Karl Leif Bates, director of research communications in public affairs and government relations. He was elected by the section for general interest in science and engineering for excellence in communicating research advances to the media and public.  

The new fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a gold-and-blue rosette pin (representing science and engineering, respectively) on Saturday, Feb. 16, during the 2019 AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.