Veterinary faculty members elected as AAAS fellows

The Council of the American Association for the Advancement of Science elected at least six faculty members at U.S. veterinary colleges, including three veterinarians, to the 2021 class of AAAS fellows.

Drs. David Edgar Anderson, Christine Kreuder Johnson, and Cheryl Rosenfeld, as well as Paula Cohen, PhD; Xiang-Jin Meng, PhD; and Stephen H. Safe, PhD, were among the 564 fellows announced by the organization on Jan. 26.

AAAS fellows are a distinguished group of scientists, engineers, and innovators recognized for their achievements across multiple disciplines, including research, academia, and government.

Section on medical sciences

Dr. Anderson is a professor and associate dean for research and graduate studies at the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Anderson was elected as an AAAS fellow for his contributions to resident and student mentoring, as well as for promoting biomedical research and technology, especially in surgical diseases and biomaterial composites for tissue regeneration and drug delivery.

Dr. Johnson is a professor of epidemiology and ecosystem health and director of the EpiCenter for Disease Dynamics at the One Health Institute at the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Johnson was elected as an AAAS fellow for novel research on global health, data science, epidemiology, and zoonotic infectious diseases; for illumination of impacts of environmental change; for advanced outbreak preparedness strategies; and for synergies for environmental stewardship.

Dr. Rosenfeld is a professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Rosenfeld was elected as an AAAS fellow for her contributions to the fields of reproductive biology and endocrine disruption and specifically for insights into the links among nutrition, placental pathologies, and offspring phenotype, especially with regard to brain development.

Section on biological sciences

Dr. Cohen is a professor of genetics in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Cohen was elected as an AAAS fellow for distinguished contributions to the field of meiosis—the formation of egg and sperm cells—and the field of germ cell development. Her laboratory focuses on the regulation of meiosis in mammals, with special emphasis on how meiotic recombination is controlled, and how to use this information for the development of novel contraceptive agents.

Dr. Meng is a professor of molecular virology at Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine and director of Virginia Tech’s Center for Emerging, Zoonotic, and Arthropod-Borne Pathogens. Dr. Meng was elected as an AAAS fellow for his paradigm-shifting discoveries of hepatitis E viruses in animals leading to the recognition of hepatitis E in humans as a zoonotic disease that is transmitted from animals to humans and between different animal species.

Dr. Safe is a professor at Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences and director of the college’s Molecular and Cellular Oncology Laboratory. Dr. Safe’s research focuses on development of novel mechanism-based anti-cancer drugs that target the nuclear orphan receptors (NR4A1, NR4A2 and NR4A3), the aryl hydrocarbon receptor, and specificity protein transcription factors.