Dr. Karen Zito Elected 2021 AAAS Fellow
Zito is one of nine UC Davis faculty this year to receive the honor
Nine faculty from UC Davis are among 564 newly elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, announced today (Jan. 26). AAAS fellows are scientists, engineers and innovators who have been recognized for their achievements across disciplines ranging from research, teaching and technology, to administration in academia, industry and government, to excellence in communicating and interpreting science to the public.
Here are the new fellows from UC Davis, listed with their AAAS commendations:
Helene Dillard
Dean, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and professor, Department of Plant Sciences
“For exemplary contributions to cross-disciplinary academic administration and global public outreach; for research in plant biology, ecology and management of fungal diseases; for agricultural production; and for mentoring and teaching.”
Davide Donadio
Professor, Department of Chemistry, College of Letters and Science
“For distinguished contributions to the field of computational and theoretical chemistry, particularly for theoretical modeling of materials.”
Fernanda Ferreira
Professor, Department of Psychology, College of Letters and Science; and Center for Mind and Brain
“For distinguished contributions to the psychology of language, most notably articulating the limitations on human language processes and how humans adapt to those limitations.”
John Gunion
Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Letters and Science
“For contributions spanning more than 40 years in research and education, including co-leading the particle physics community toward discovery and understanding of the most fundamental particle interactions in our universe.”
Linda J. Harris
Professor of Cooperative Extension in Microbial Food Safety, Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
“For distinguished contributions to the field of food safety microbiology especially related to control of Salmonella and other pathogens in low-moisture foods and fresh produce.”
Johannes Hell
Professor, Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, and Center for Neuroscience
“For exceptional advancements of the molecular and functional analysis of postsynaptic mechanisms that govern the strength of glutamatergic synapses, and outstanding contributions to the training and mentoring of junior scientists.”
Christine Kreuder Johnson
Professor, One Health Institute, School of Veterinary Medicine
“For novel research in global health, data science, epidemiology and zoonotic infectious diseases, for illumination of environmental change impacts, for advanced outbreak preparedness strategies, and for synergies for environmental stewardship.”
Jay Stachowicz
Professor, Department of Evolution and Ecology, College of Biological Sciences
“For distinguished contributions to the fields of ecology and evolution, particularly for understanding marine ecosystem functioning including the roles of biodiversity, mutualism and facilitation, and community assembly.”
Karen Zito
Professor, Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, College of Biological Sciences; Center for Neuroscience
“For contributions to understanding excitatory synapse formation and the dynamics of postsynaptic density proteins.”
An induction ceremony for the new fellows will take place during the AAAS annual meeting, to be held online this year Feb. 17-20.
Founded in 1848, AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science and other journals. Its mission is to “advance science and serve society” through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education, public engagement and more.
Media Resources
Media Contact:
- Andy Fell, News and Media Relations, 530-304-8888, ahfell@ucdavis.edu
A version of this article was originally posted by University News.