University professors receive fellow award for contributions to science

Five IU scientists have been named 2013 fellows for the American Association for the Advancement of Science because of their work to progress scientific research and applications.

With the five newly honored professors, the total number of AAAS fellows affiliated with IU amounts to 86.

Dr. Bernardino Ghetti from the IU School of Medicine in Indianapolis and Provost Professor Olaf Sporns from the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences were honored, along with biology emeritus professor Peter Cherbas and biology professors Elizabeth Raff and Malcolm Winkler.

Cherbas is being recognized for his contributions to developmental biology and his research in the role of ecdysone in the regulation of transcription and metamorphosis in Drosophila.

Ghetti is considered a pioneer in his field, IU School of Medicine Dean Jay L. Hess said in a press release.

He has helped explain how to identify and treat the pathogenetic mechanisms involved in hereditary neurodegenerative diseases.

Raff has focused her scientific efforts on the study of the microtubule cytoskeleton, and Sporns has contributed to the field of theoretical and computational neuroscience, especially regarding connectivity of the human brain.

Winkler has focused on the field of bacterial metabolism, physiology and molecular genetics in Gram-negative model bacteria and in the pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae.

The AAAS is the largest general scientific society in the world and serves 10 million people with 261 academies and societies.

The organization honored 388 members with the fellow award with year and will officially present the awards on Feb. 15 during the 2014 AAAS Annual Meeting in Chicago.

AAA was founded in 1848 and is also the publisher of the journal Science, the peer-reviewed general science journal with the most readers in the world, with an estimated total readership of 1 million.

College of Arts and Sciences Dean Larry Singell said the scientists are models for hardworking research and intellectual achievement. President Michael McRobbie also commended the professors.

“These five individuals have dedicated their lives to taking on intellectual challenges the answers to which mean to address and resolve some of society’s most vexing issues — from understanding and combating Alzheimer’s to advancing the field of genomics for the purpose of promoting public health,” Robbie said.

“We are indebted to each of them for their long and distinguished service to both Indiana University and to mankind.”

— Samantha Schmidt