Alan Templeton, Charles Rebstock Professor of Biology and Sarah Elgin, Victor Hamburger Professor of Arts & Sciences have been elected as members of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. The Academy recognizes some of the world’s most accomplished scholars, scientists, writers, artists, and civic, corporate, and philanthropic leaders.
The Chairman of Biology Kathryn Miller writes: Sally Elgin has made many contributions over her career in the area of chromatin structure and epigenetic regulation. She pioneered a number of important techniques for the study of chromatin structure and genome organization, publishing important findings on the organization of nucleosome arrays, identification of chromosomal proteins required for gene activation or for gene silencing, and organization of active and silent domains within the Drosophila genome. Her work is always thoughtful, thorough, and definitive, addressing important problems in the field. She has mentored many graduate students and post-docs, many of whom have gone on to very successful careers of their own. Her lab is usually filled with undergraduates who get an exciting exposure to the research and great preparation for their next steps. She has also excelled as an educator, beginning with establishing the first Science Outreach program at Washington University in the early 90’s. in the work she sought to improve K-12 education in the St. Louis region. She rapidly became involved in education initiatives nationally. She catalyzed important projects in teaching in STEM at WU, support of Undergraduate research, and K-12 science outreach through a series of HHMI Undergraduate Education grants, on which she served as program director for over 10 years. She also was awarded a prestigious HHMI Professorship and has, under this funding, developed the Genomics Education Partnership, a program to bring authentic research in the area of genomics into lab classes at universities and colleges across the USA. She is a leader in all these areas and her election as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences is a well-deserved honor. Congratulations, Sally!!
Joan Strassmann Professor of Biology writes: We are delighted to announce that Alan R. Templeton, Charles Rebstock Professor of Biology, has been elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. This prestigious society has been tackling the thorniest issues since 1780. Its mesh of science, social science, and art serve to identify solutions to problems, to coax people and governments into applying the solutions, and to enjoy the view along the way. They are very lucky to have Professor Templeton among their new members, for he has shown us how to think about two very diverse areas: conservation and human disease. He has shown the importance of fire in saving collared lizards in the Ozarks. He has studied endangered wild asses and salamanders in Israel. He has developed analytical tools to study epistasis in complex diseases, which can be used in making the transition from population associations to individual treatments in diseases like coronary artery disease and end-stage kidney disease. Some researchers have a single tool they apply to diverse problems. Others study a single system their entire careers. Professor Templeton’s single tool is his formidable intellect, which he uses to develop diverse solutions crucial to solving the most important problems of our time. Professor Templeton has also actively participated in the public dialogue on the ethical and social consequences of studies of human evolution, race and genetic epidemiology. Furthermore, he shares his expertise with a broad community of students, particularly in the US, Israel, and Brazil, most prominently with his excellent textbook on population genetics. Clearly, Alan Templeton will be a most valuable member of The American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Congratulations, Alan!
