Raymond F. Schinazi and Stephen T. Warren of the Emory University School of Medicine have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election as a Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers. These leading scientists have been recognized for their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.
Raymond F. Schinazi, PhD, DSc, FAASLD, is the Frances Winship Walters Professor of Pediatrics, director of the Division of Laboratory of Biochemical Pharmacology, and co-director of the of the HIV Cure Scientific Working Group within the NIH-sponsored Emory University Center for AIDS Research (CFAR). He was elected to the Section on Pharmaceutical Sciences for his “distinguished contributions to the field of pharmacology and medicinal chemistry, particularly for antiviral therapies that have saved millions of lives.” Schinazi’s research currently focuses on identifying agents that could be used to eliminate HIV, hepatitis B, CoV-2 and yellow fever infections. He holds more than 100 US patents and more than 94% of individuals with HIV take at least one of the drugs he developed.
Stephen T. Warren, PhD, is the founding and former chairman of the Department of Human Genetics, William Patterson Timmie Professor of Human Genetics and Charles Howard Candler Chair in Human Genetics. He was elected to the Section on Biological Sciences for “seminal discoveries identifying the gene responsible for fragile X syndrome in humans, characterizing the first trinucleotide repeat mutation and paving the way toward treatments.” Warren has spent nearly four decades investigating fragile X syndrome, a leading genetic cause of intellectual disability and autism. He is also an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine.
A virtual induction ceremony for this year’s 489 new Fellows will be held on Feb. 13, 2021. The Fellows were formally announced in the AAAS News & Notes section of the journal Science on Nov. 27.
To be considered for the rank of Fellow, members must be nominated by the steering group of one of the association’s 24 sections, by three previously elected Fellows or by the AAAS chief executive officer. Fellows must have been continuous members of AAAS for four years by the end of the calendar year in which they are elected. The AAAS Fellow honor comes with an expectation that recipients maintain the highest standards of professional ethics and scientific integrity.
Each steering group reviews the nominations of individuals within its respective section and a final list is forwarded to the AAAS Council, which votes on the aggregate list.
The Council is the policymaking body of the Association, chaired by the AAAS president, and consisting of the members of the board of directors, the retiring section chairs, delegates from each electorate and each regional division, and two delegates from the National Association of Academies of Science.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science, as well as Science Translational Medicine; Science Signaling; a digital, open-access journal, Science Advances; Science Immunology; and Science Robotics. AAAS was founded in 1848 and includes more than 250 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. The nonprofit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to “advance science and serve society” through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education, public engagement, and more. For additional information about AAAS, see www.aaas.org.