Four TSRI scientists named American Association for the Advancement of Science fellows

Four scientists from The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have been named fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). They are chemist Phil Baran, neuroscientist Hollis Cline, immunologist J. Lindsay Whitton, and chemist Jin-Quan Yu. Election as a AAAS fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers

"I'm delighted Phil, Holly, Lindsay, and Jin are being recognized for their accomplishments," said Michael A. Marletta, TSRI president and CEO. "These honors are well deserved and reflect the excellence of our faculty. It is reassuring that outside recognition comes for those we know are outstanding scientists."

This year's 702 new fellows, to be formally announced in the November 30 edition of the journal Science, were selected because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.

Baran, a professor in TSRI's Department of Chemistry, was cited "for outstanding contributions to the field of organic synthesis, particularly for the development of new strategies in total synthesis and the invention of useful methods."

Cline, who is Hahn Professor of Neuroscience in the Department of Cell Biology and a member of TSRI's Dorris Neuroscience Center, was recognized "for seminal studies of how sensory experience affects the development of brain structures and function and for generous national and international advisory service to neuroscience."

Whitton, a professor in the Department of Immunology and Microbial Science, was lauded "for contributions to viral immunology and pathogenesis, for developing the first epitope-based vaccines and revealing how rapidly T cells control virus infections in vivo."

Yu, a professor in the Department of Chemistry, was honored "for distinguished contributions to the field of organic synthesis, specifically in the development of new transition metal-catalyzed C-H functionalization reactions."

Other AAAS fellows at TSRI include: Carlos F. Barbas, Tamas Bartfai, Dale L. Boger, Tom Burris, Benjamin Cravatt, Francis V. Chisari, Ronald Davis, Gerald M. Edelman, Thomas S. Edgington, M. Reza Ghadiri, Kim D. Janda, Ehud Keinan, Thomas Kodadek, George Koob, Richard A. Lerner, Michael A. Marletta, Donald E. Mosier, K.C. Nicolaou, Michael B. Oldstone, Julius Rebek, Jr., William Roush, Paul Schimmel, K. Barry Sharpless, Ben Shen, Eng M. Tan, Curt Wittenberg and Peter E. Wright.

The tradition of AAAS fellows began in 1874. The new fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a gold and blue (representing science and engineering, respectively) rosette pin on February 16 at the AAAS Fellows Forum during the 2013 AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston.