American Academy of Microbiology Names 16 Women as Fellows

The American Academy of Microbiology recently announced the selection of 88 new fellows for 2014. Sixteen of the 88 new fellows are women who are affiliated with colleges and universities in the United States.

(L to R) Irina Artsimovitch, Deborah Bell-Pedersen, Suzanne Fleiszig, and Susan L. Forsburg

Irina Artsimovitch is a professor of microbiology at Ohio State University in Columbus. She is a graduate of Moscow State University in Russia and holds a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee. Dr. Artsimovitch did postdoctoral research at the University of Wisconsin. She joined the faculty at Ohio State and was promoted to full professor in 2011.

Deborah Bell-Pedersen is a professor and associate chair for operations in the department of biology at Texas A&M University. She joined the faculty at the university in 1997. Her research focuses on understanding how the circadian clock functions. Professor Bell-Pedersen holds bachelor’s, master’s, and Ph.D. degrees from the University at Albany of the State University of New York System. She conducted postdoctoral research in biochemistry at Dartmouth Medical School.

Suzanne Fleiszig is a professor of optometry and vision science and associate dean for basic sciences at the University of California, Berkeley. Her research concerns understanding the molecular factors that prevent bacterial penetration of the corneal epithelium when the eye is healthy. Dr. Fleiszig earned her Ph.D. at the University of Melbourne in Australia.

Susan L. Forsburg is a professor of biological sciences at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, where she double majored in English and molecular biology. Professor Forsburg holds a Ph.D. in biology with a concentration in genetics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She joined the faculty at USC in 2004 and was promoted to full professor in 2006.

(L to R) Nancy L. Haigwood, Laura A. Katz, Victoria Lundblad, and Trudy G. Morrison

Nancy L. Haigwood is director and senior scientist at the Oregon National Primate Research Center of the Oregon Health and Science University in Beaverton. Her research focuses on developing vaccines to prevent HIV. Dr. Haigwood received a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and was an American Cancer Society postdoctoral fellow in virology at Johns Hopkins University.

Laura A. Katz is the Elsie Damon Simonds Professor of Biological Sciences at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. She has served on the Smith College faculty since 1997 and was promoted to full professor in 2008. Dr. Katz is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard University, where she majored in the history of science. She holds a Ph.D. in ecology and evolutionary biology from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York.

Victoria Lundblad holds the Ralph S. and Becky O’Connor Chair and is a professor of molecular and cellular biology at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California. Her research focuses on telomeres, the specialized structures found at the ends of linear chromosomes. Professor Lundblad is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Trudy G. Morrison is a professor of microbiology and physiological systems at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester. Her laboratory examines virus assembly for the purposes of developing vaccines. Dr. Morrison is a graduate of Wellesley College in Massachusetts and she holds a Ph.D. from the Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston.

(L to R) Leslie J. Parent, Marilyn Parsons, Erica Ollmann Saphire, and Karla J. Fullner Satchell

Leslie J. Parent is an infectious disease expert at the Milton S. Hershey Medical Center of Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Parent earned her medical degree at Duke University. Her research focuses on understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying the assembly of retrovirus particles.

Marilyn Parsons is the director of professional development at the Seattle Biomedical Research Institute and affiliate professor of global health at the University of Washington. She was a professor of pathobiology at the University of Washington for 21 years. Dr. Parsons is a graduate of the University of Kansas, where she majored in biology. She earned a Ph.D. in genetics at Stanford University.

Erica Ollmann Saphire is a professor of immunology and microbial science at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California. She studies the molecular basis of viral pathogenesis, focusing on filoviruses, arenaviruses and the immune response against them. Professor Saphire holds a Ph.D. in macromolecular and cellular structure and chemistry from the Scripps Research Institute.

Karla J. Fullner Satchell is a professor of microbiology and immunology at the Feinberg School of Medicine of Northwestern University in Chicago. Her research focuses on the role of secreted protein toxins on bacterial pathogenesis. Professor Satchell holds a Ph.D. in microbiology from the University of Washington. She did postdoctoral research at Harvard Medical School and the University of Pittsburgh.

(L to R) Anca M. Segall, Anne E. Simon, Deborah Spector, and Sandra L. Wolin

Anca M. Segall is a professor of biology at San Diego State University in California. Her research concerns three general topics: the mechanism of site-specific recombination, the identification and characterization of DNA repair inhibitors, and the diversity and lifestyle of bacteriophages. Professor Segall holds a Ph.D. from the University of Utah.

Anne E. Simon is a professor in the department of cell biology and molecular genetics at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her research focuses on sequences and structures involved in replication and translation of small RNA viruses. Professor Simon is a graduate of the University of California, San Diego and holds a Ph.D. from Indiana University.

Deborah Spector is a professor of medicine in the Division of Biological Sciences at the University of California, San Diego. She is also a Distinguished Professor in the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the university. Her laboratory studies human cytomegalovirus (HCMV), which is the leading viral cause of neural birth defects. Professor Spector is a graduate of Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, and holds a Ph.D. in cell and molecular biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Sandra L. Wolin is a professor of cell biology and of molecular biophysics and biochemistry at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. She earned both a medical degree and a Ph.D. at Yale. The Wolin lab studies how noncoding RNAs function, how cells recognize and degrade defective RNAs, and how failure to degrade RNA affects cells and contributes to disease.