Phillip A. Sharp, Molecular Biologist and Nobel Laureate, Chosen To Serve As AAAS President-Elect

Nobel laureate Phillip A. Sharp, institute professor at the Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT, has been chosen to serve as president-elect of AAAS. He will begin his one-year term as president in February 2013, at the close of the 179th AAAS Annual Meeting in Boston.

Phillip A. Sharp

[Photo © and courtesy of MIT]

Sharp, a noted molecular biologist with a focus on the genetic causes of cancer, shared the 1993 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of “split genes”—the finding that genes could be composed of several separate segments within DNA. His lab now focuses on the therapeutic potential of small RNA molecules that can switch genes on and off. He has co-founded two companies: Biogen (now Biogen Idec) and Alnylam Pharmaceuticals.

At the close of the 2012 meeting, William H. Press began a one-year term as AAAS president. Press is a professor of computer science and integrative biology at the University of Texas at Austin, and member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology (PCAST).

The former president, Nina V. Fedoroff, has begun a one-year term as chairman of the AAAS Board of Directors. Fedoroff served as the science and technology adviser to the U.S. Department of State and USAID from 2007 to 2010, and is now a distinguished visiting professor at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and an Evan Pugh Professor at Pennsylvania State University.

Here are the full election results, with all terms beginning 20 February 2012:

General Offices

President-Elect: Phillip A. Sharp

Board of Directors: Bonnie L. Bassler; May R. Berenbaum

Committee on Nominations: Mary-Claire King; Barbara J. Meyer, Cherry A. Murray; Keith R. Yamamoto

Section on Agriculture, Food, and Renewable Resources

Chair-Elect: Susan R. McCouch

Member-at-Large of the Section Committee: Jo Handelsman

Electorate Nominating Committee: Candace H. Haigler; Gregory B. Martin

Council Delegate: Maud A.W. Hinchee

Section on Anthropology

Chair-Elect: John H. Relethford

Member-at-Large of the Section Committee: Karen R. Rosenberg

Electorate Nominating Committee: David G. Anderson; Leslea J. Hlusko

Section on Astronomy

Chair-Elect: Sandra M. Faber

Member-at-Large of the Section Committee: Megan Donahue

Electorate Nominating Committee: Martha P. Haynes; Bruce Margon

Section on Atmospheric and Hydrospheric Sciences

Chair-Elect: Andrew Dessler

Member-at-Large of the Section Committee: Alan Mix

Electorate Nominating Committee: Margaret Leinen; Joyce E. Penner

Section on Biological Sciences

Chair-Elect: Joy Bergelson

Member-at-Large of the Section Committee: Ellen D. Ketterson

Electorate Nominating Committee: Sarah Hake; Jeannie T. Lee

Section on Chemistry

Chair-Elect: Alfred P. Sattelberger

Member-at-Large of the Section Committee: Melanie Sanford

Electorate Nominating Committee: Anna K. Mapp; William B. Tolman

Section on Dentistry and Oral Health Sciences

Chair-Elect: Paul H. Krebsbach

Member-at-Large of the Section Committee: Christopher H. Fox

Electorate Nominating Committee: Anne George; J. Timothy Wright

Section on Education

Chair-Elect: Samuel M. Taylor

Member-at-Large of the Section Committee: Dale Rose Baker

Electorate Nominating Committee: Julia V. Clark; Judy Scotchmoor

Section on Engineering

Chair-Elect: Kristina M. Johnson

Member-at-Large of the Section Committee: Alan E. Willner

Electorate Nominating Committee: Linda P.B. Katehi; Gregory N. Stephanopoulos

Council Delegate: Stuart L. Cooper; Larry V. McIntire

Section on General Interest in Science and Engineering

Chair-Elect: Marilee Long

Member-at-Large of the Section Committee: Joseph M. DeSimone

Electorate Nominating Committee: Lynne Timpani Friedmann; Barbara Gastel

Section on Geology and Geography

Chair-Elect: Tim Dixon

Member-at-Large of the Section Committee: Naomi Oreskes

Electorate Nominating Committee: Brenda Ekwurzel; Walter D. Mooney

Section on History and Philosophy of Science

Chair-Elect: Davis Baird

Member-at-Large of the Section Committee: Naomi Oreskes

Electorate Nominating Committee: Thomas Nickles; Robert T. Pennock

Council Delegate: Vassiliki Betty Smocovitis

Section on Industrial Science and Technology

Chair-Elect: Thomas Mason

Member-at-Large of the Section Committee: Benn Tannenbaum

Electorate Nominating Committee: Thomas Meade; Thomas P. Russell

Council Delegate: Elizabeth R. Cantwell

Section on Information, Computing, and Communication

Chair-Elect: Eric Horvitz

Member-at-Large of the Section Committee: Peter A. Freeman

Electorate Nominating Committee: Toni Carbo; Tom Dietterich

Section on Linguistics and Language Science

Chair-Elect: Karen Emmorey

Member-at-Large of the Section Committee: Colin Phillips

Electorate Nominating Committee: Mark Aronoff; Eric Potsdam

Section on Mathematics

Chair-Elect: Juan C. Meza

Member-at-Large of the Section Committee: Sheldon Katz

Electorate Nominating Committee: Carlos Castillo-Chavez; Annie Selden

Section on Medical Sciences

Chair-Elect: Beverly L. Davidson

Member-at-Large of the Section Committee: Claire Pomeroy

Electorate Nominating Committee: Karen Hsiao Ashe; Katherine Amberson Hajjar

Council Delegate: Mary C. Dinauer; Katherine A. High; Nancy H. Ruddle

Section on Neuroscience

Chair-Elect: Joseph T. Coyle

Member-at-Large of the Section Committee: Robert Vassar

Electorate Nominating Committee: Jeffrey L. Cummings; Michael J. Zigmond

Section on Pharmaceutical Sciences

Chair-Elect: Kenneth D. Tew

Member-at-Large of the Section Committee: John F. Carpenter

Electorate Nominating Committee: Alice M. Clark; James M. Gallo

Section on Physics

Chair-Elect: Jay Marx

Member-at-Large of the Section Committee: David K. Campbell

Electorate Nominating Committee: Angela V. Olinto; Stuart Parkin

Section on Psychology

Chair-Elect: Richard N. Aslin

Member-at-Large of the Section Committee: Susan T. Fiske

Electorate Nominating Committee: Keith J. Holyoak; Sandra R. Waxman

Council Delegate: Lewis P. Lipsitt

Section on Social, Economic, and Political Sciences

Chair-Elect: Arthur Lupia

Member-at-Large of the Section Committee: Eileen M. Crimmins

Electorate Nominating Committee: Lynda T. Carlson; Jonathan D. Mayer

Council Delegate: Amy O. Tsui

Section on Societal Impacts of Science and Engineering

Chair-Elect: Susan E. Cozzens

Member-at-Large of the Section Committee: Ruth L. Fischbach

Electorate Nominating Committee: David H. DeVorkin; Doris Teichler Zallen

Section on Statistics

Chair-Elect: Sally C. Morton

Member-at-Large of the Section Committee: Jessica Utts

Electorate Nominating Committee: Hans-Georg Müller; Javier Rojo

13 March 2012