Newswise — BETHESDA, MD (October 18, 2013) -- The Genetics Society of America (GSA) welcomes the election of five members to its Board of Directors. The new members include a vice president—who will serve as president of the Society in 2015—a treasurer, and three directors. They are: • Jasper Rine, PhD (University of California, Berkeley). Dr. Rine will serve as vice president in 2014 and as GSA president in 2015. • Sue Jinks-Robertson, PhD (Duke University Medical School), treasurer.• Angelika Amon, PhD (Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Massachusetts Institute of Technology), director.• Lauren McIntyre, PhD (University of Florida), director.• Dmitri Petrov, PhD (Stanford University), director.
“We are gratified that such talented scientists and thoughtful educators will volunteer their expertise and limited time to provide leadership for GSA,” said GSA Executive Director Adam P. Fagen, PhD. “As we welcome these new Board members, we thank the outgoing officers and directors for their dedicated service and look forward to their continued involvement in the Society.”
These new officers and directors begin their tenure on January 1, 2014, and will remain on the GSA Board until December 31, 2016.
New Members of the GSA Board of Directors
Vice President (and President-Elect):Jasper Rine, PhD, Professor of Genetics, Genomics and Development, University of California, Berkeley, CA
Dr. Rine investigates epigenetics—changes in gene expression or cell traits not caused by changes in DNA sequence—using brewer’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae), a powerful model organism in genetics. His lab is currently focused on exploring yeast and human genetic and epigenetic variation with the eventual goal of understanding gene silencing and identifying human gene variants whose impact can be addressed through diet. Dr. Rine is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He serves as a Reviews Editor for GSA’s journal GENETICS and an associate editor for GSA’s journal G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics.
Treasurer: Sue Jinks-Robertson, PhD, Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC
Dr. Jinks-Robertson and her lab are examining the regulation of DNA repair and surveillance mechanisms, essential for preventing mutagenesis and maintaining genome stability, using brewer’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) as a model system. Dr. Jinks-Robertson is a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She previously served on the GSA Board as a Director from 2010 to 2012 and is founding chair of the Society’s Women in Genetics Committee.
Directors:Angelika Amon, PhD, Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, and Professor of Biology, Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA
Dr. Amon is exploring the regulatory circuits that control chromosome segregation and examining the consequences of when the mechanisms fail and cells become aneuploid (have an abnormal number of chromosomes). Initial findings from her lab from work with yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) are now being explored in the mouse, a mammalian model genetic system. She is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. Among her many honors are a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the National Science Foundation’s Alan T. Waterman Award, and the National Academy of Sciences Award in Molecular Biology.
Lauren McIntyre, PhD, Professor of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology and Member, Genetics Institute, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Dr. McIntyre is a quantitative geneticist interested in understanding complex traits and the connection between genotype and phenotype. She uses a systems approach to develop statistical analysis of genomic, transcriptomic, and metabolomic data. Dr. McIntyre collaborates widely and has worked on Drosophila, maize, Arabidopsis, Staphylococcus, and other systems. She has served as a senior editor of GSA’s journal GENETICS since 2008 and is a member of the Society’s Communications Committee.
Dmitri Petrov, PhD, Michelle and Kevin Douglas Professor of Humanities and Sciences, Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Dr. Petrov examines many aspects of adaptation at the molecular level as well as genome evolution. His work focuses on a wide range of questions, from transposable elements to the evolution of pesticide resistance. He received the Walter Fitch Prize from the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution and the Milton Award. Dr. Petrov has also been named a Terman Fellow, Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, and a Chambers Fellow.
These new officers and directors replace Past President Phil Hieter, PhD (University of British Columbia); Treasurer Carol S. Newlon, PhD (Rutgers–New Jersey Medical School); and Directors Bonnie Bartel, PhD (Rice University), Judith G. Berman, PhD (University of Minnesota and Tel Aviv University), and Jeannie T. Lee, MD, PhD (Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Harvard Medical School), whose tenures on the GSA Board end on December 31, 2013. The new members join the following Board officers and directors who continue to serve the Society in 2014 until the year noted (in parenthesis).
• President (2015) Vicki Chandler, PhD (Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation)• Past President (2014) Michael Lynch, PhD (Indiana University)• Secretary (2015) Anne M. Villeneuve (Stanford University School of Medicine)• Director (2015) Lynn Cooley, PhD (Yale University)• Director (2015) Anna Di Rienzo, PhD (University of Chicago)• Director (2015) Sarah C. R. Elgin, PhD (Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Washington University in St. Louis)• Director (2014) Marnie E. Halpern, PhD (Carnegie Institution for Science)• Director (2014) Mohamed A. F. Noor, PhD (Duke University)• Director (2014) John C. Schimenti, PhD (Cornell University)• Director (2015) Deborah A. Siegele, PhD (Texas A&M University)• Editor-in-Chief, G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics (2014) Brenda J. Andrews, PhD (University of Toronto)• Editor-in-Chief, GENETICS (2018) Mark Johnston, PhD (University of Colorado Health Science Center, Denver)
NOTE: For a PDF version of this release, including color photos, please visit this URL.
ABOUT THE GENETICS SOCIETY OF AMERICAFounded in 1931, the Genetics Society of America (GSA) is the professional scientific society for genetics researchers and educators. Its more than 5,000 members work to advance knowledge in the basic mechanisms of inheritance, from the molecular to the population level. GSA promotes research and fosters communication among geneticists worldwide through a number of GSA-sponsored conferences including annual and biennial meetings that focus on the genetics of particular model organisms. GSA publishes GENETICS, a leading journal for seminal research in the field since 1916, and G3: Genes|Genomes|Genetics, which publishes high quality foundational research, particularly research that generates useful genetic and genomic information. For more information about GSA, please visit www.genetics-gsa.org. Also follow GSA on Facebook at facebook.com/GeneticsGSA and on Twitter @GeneticsGSA.
RSS