Six Vanderbilt University faculty members have been elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
They are among 471 scientists, engineers and innovators who have been elected to the 2024 class of AAAS Fellows across 24 disciplinary sections. One of the world’s largest multidisciplinary scientific societies, the AAAS also publishes the Science family of journals.
The new fellows from Vanderbilt University and Vanderbilt University Medical Center are:
Stephen Bruehl, PhD, professor of Anesthesiology.
Angela Jefferson, PhD, professor of Neurology, Medicine and Psychology and director of the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center. Jefferson holds the Herbert O. and Vineta Christopher Directorship.
Lisa Monteggia, PhD, the Lee E. Limbird Professor of Pharmacology, professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and of Psychology, and the Barlow Family Director of the Vanderbilt Brain Institute.
Elizabeth Phillips, MD, the John A. Oates Professor of Medicine, professor of Dermatology, Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology and of Pharmacology, and director of the Center for Drug Safety and Immunology at VUMC.
Michael Savona, MD, professor of Medicine and director of Hematology Research and the Early Therapy Program. Savona holds the Beverly and George Rawlings Directorship.
Matthew Tyska, PhD, the Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology and scientific director of the Cell Imaging Shared Resource.
The AAAS recognized Bruehl “for distinguished contributions in pain psychology, especially pertaining to complex regional pain syndrome, the role of … the cardiovascular system in adaptation to pain, … personalized pain medicine, and how phenotypes affect responsiveness to opioid medications.”
Jefferson was cited “for distinguished contributions to the field of neuroscience … linking subclinical age-related changes in cardiovascular structure and function to accelerated brain aging, Alzheimer’s disease, small vessel disease and neurodegeneration.”
Monteggia’s citation recognizes “distinguished contributions to understanding cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders, in particular, the role of epigenetic factors, including MeCP2 and HDACs (proteins that regulate gene expression), in the central nervous system.”
Phillips was recognized “for distinguished contributions to the field of allergy and immunology, including (the) discovery and translation of genetic and other approaches to prevent and diagnose drug hypersensitivity and remove false allergy labels.”
Savona’s citation recognizes his “distinguished and unique contributions to the field of medical sciences, and for using laboratory innovations to bring novel therapies to patients with cancer.”
Tyska was cited “for distinguished contributions to the field of cellular and molecular physiology, particularly using intestinal epithelial cells to understand how the cytoskeleton controls cell shape and function.”
This election brings to 109 the number of AAAS fellows who are current members of the Vanderbilt University faculty.
Seventy-seven fellows are in the School of Medicine, 49 of whom have primary appointments in clinical departments based at VUMC, including Anesthesiology, Medicine and Neurology. Twenty-eight have primary appointments in basic science departments, including Cell and Developmental Biology, and Pharmacology.
