Irvine, Calif., Nov. 29, 2012 — Twelve UC Irvine researchers and one administrator have been made fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the world's largest general scientific society.
A total of 702 AAAS members are being honored this year for their efforts to advance science or its applications. New fellows will receive an official certificate and a gold and blue rosette pin on Feb. 16, 2013, at the organization's annual meeting in Boston.
The class is being formally announced Nov. 30 in the AAAS News & Notes section of the journal Science. The 2012 UCI fellows are:
- Bruce Blumberg, professor of developmental & cell biology, pharmaceutical sciences and biomedical engineering, for his contributions to the field of developmental biology, particularly for increasing understanding of the interactions between environmental signals and the developmental origins of disease
- Andrew Borovik, professor of chemistry, for his work on developing more efficient chemical processes through molecular design inspired by biological enzymes
- Ken Cho, professor of developmental & cell biology, for his additions to developmental biology, such as identifying the mechanism of Spemann's organizer and the importance of growth factor signaling during early embryogenesis
- Ron Frostig, professor of neurobiology & behavior, for his work in using optical imaging to describe the organization and plasticity of the cerebral cortex
- David Gardiner, professor of developmental & cell biology, for his contributions to the field of regeneration research and for his role in building the bridge between phenomenology and molecular biology
- Wen-Hwa Lee, Donald Bren Professor of biological chemistry, for advancing the understanding of human tumor suppressors – including the retinoblastoma, p53 and BRCA genes – in the cell cycle, differentiation and genomic stability
- Jacob Levin, assistant vice chancellor for research development, for helping establish the emerging profession of research development and for outstanding leadership in the National Organization of Research Development Professionals
- Hartmut Luecke, professor of molecular biology & biochemistry, physiology & biophysics and computer science, for his contributions to the fields of structural biology and membrane protein crystallography
- Markus Ribbe, professor of molecular biology & biochemistry and chemistry, for his achievements in elucidating the biosynthetic pathways of nitrogenase metalloclusters and uncovering novel catalytic features of alternative nitrogenase systems
- Ann Sakai, professor of ecology & evolutionary biology, for her work on the evolution of plant breeding systems, mentoring undergraduates and promoting the involvement of underrepresented groups in biology
- Rozanne Sandri-Goldin, professor and chair of microbiology & molecular genetics, for her contributions to molecular virology, particularly for shedding light on how multifunctional viral proteins commandeer host cell pathways to benefit viral replication
- Thomas Schilling, professor of developmental & cell biology, for his work in vertebrate development that has provided mechanistic insight into the formation of the nervous system and skeleton in early embryos
- Gregory Weiss, professor of chemistry and molecular biology & biochemistry, for his contributions to the field of chemical biology, especially for expanding the technique of bacteriophage peptide and protein display into new interdisciplinary areas
About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Led by Chancellor Michael Drake since 2005, UCI is among the most dynamic campuses in the University of California system, with more than 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 1,100 faculty and 9,400 staff. Orange County's second-largest employer, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $4.3 billion. For more UCI news, visit www.today.uci.edu.
About the American Association for the Advancement of Science: The world's largest general scientific society, AAAS publishes the journals Science, Science Translational Medicine and Science Signaling. The nonprofit was founded in 1848 and includes 261 affiliated societies and academies of science serving 10 million individuals. AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission of "advancing science, serving society" through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education and more.
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