News Release

Washington State University researchers honored by top science society

4 named Fellows of AAAS

Grant and Award Announcement

Washington State University

Raymond Reeves, Washington State University

image: Raymond Reeves, a WSU professor in the School of Molecular Biosciences, is one of four faculty named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. view more 

Credit: WSU photo

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The largest general scientific society in the world is honoring four Washington State University researchers for efforts advancing distinguished science applications.

The four are among 503 members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science to receive the honor of being named a Fellow, a tradition that goes back to 1874. They will be formally recognized during the 2011 AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., this February.

Howard Grimes, WSU vice president for research and dean of the Graduate School, said the awards are another indication of the high quality of research being conducted by WSU faculty.

"This is a well-deserved recognition of the work of these four faculty members, who in many ways personify both the exceptional quality and relevance of the type of scientific inquiry that has come to distinguish WSU," said Grimes. "They are to be congratulated and thanked for all they have done and continue to do for the institution."

The WSU Fellows are:

  • Warwick M. Bayly, "for distinguished contributions to comparative respiratory pathophysiology and outstanding leadership advancing the teaching and practice of veterinary medicine in the United States and abroad." Bayly, former dean of WSU’s College of Veterinary Medicine, also serves as the WSU provost.

  • Terry F. McElwain, "for distinguished contributions to public health through infectious diseases investigation and implementation of laboratory networks for detection and confirmation of pathogen emergence and spread." McElwain is a professor of Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology and executive director of the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory.

  • Raymond Reeves, "for distinguished contributions to the field of chromatin research, particularly for studies elucidating the structure and function of the HMGA family of non-histone architectural proteins." Reeves, a professor in the School of Molecular Biosciences, studies proteins that turn human genes on and off in normal and cancerous cells.

  • Michael J. Smerdon, "for distinguished contributions to the field of DNA repair, and for recognizing the significance of chromatin structure in this important defense mechanism against human disease." Smerdon, who is also a Regents professor in the School of Molecular Biosciences, looks at how DNA repair is influenced by the way DNA is packaged in cells and its response to genetic signals being turned on and off by environmental conditions.

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The AAAS was founded in 1848 and includes 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. It also publishes Science, which has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world and an estimated total readership of 1 million.


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