Stanford Report - January 5th, 2009

Five Stanford scientists and the university librarian have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), an honor bestowed upon members of the association by their peers.

The Stanford scholars join 480 other newly elected fellows of the world's largest general scientific organization, whose mission is to "advance science and serve society" through its projects, programs and publications, including the journal Science.

Christopher Field, professor of biology and of environmental Earth system science, as well as director of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology, was elected for his central role in developing global ecology, with major contributions to the global carbon cycle, climate-change impacts and feedbacks of ecosystems to climate change.

Peter Jackson, associate professor of pathology, was elected for providing new insights into regulation of the cell cycle, the function of cyclins, and protein degradation, and for the discovery of novel signaling mechanisms in the primary cilium.

Theodore Jardetzky, professor of structural biology, was elected for his research revealing the mechanisms of viral-host membrane fusion and important structural features of membrane receptors in the immune system.

Michael Keller, the Ida M. Green University Librarian, director of Academic Information Resources, founder and publisher of HighWire Press and publisher of Stanford University Press, was elected for extensive and innovative contributions to the dissemination, preservation and advancement of scientific and other scholarly literature through electronic and other means.

Robert Malenka, the Nancy Friend Pritzker Professor in Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, was elected for his research on the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying synaptic transmission, neuroplasticity and drug actions, and their implications for normal and abnormal behavior.

Irving Weissman, professor of pathology and of developmental biology and the Virginia & D. K. Ludwig Professor for Clinical Investigation in Cancer Research, was elected for his contributions to developmental biology focusing on cells that make up the blood forming and immune systems, and for the isolation and evolution of stem cells.

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AT STANFORD REPORT