More than 400 members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science have earned the lifetime distinction of AAAS Fellow, in honor of their invaluable contributions to science and technology. This year, thirteen Damon Runyon alumni receive the honor that recognizes pioneering research, leadership, teaching and mentoring, fostering collaborations and advancing public understanding of science. The tradition of electing AAAS Fellows began in 1874. 

Leah E. Cowen, PhD, at the University of Toronto for her distinguished contributions in the field of microbial genomics, particularly for using functional and chemical genomic analyses to identify vulnerabilities in fungal pathogens

Matthew Meyerson, MD, PhD,, of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute/Harvard Medical School for his contributions and pioneering genomic discoveries in cancer biology.

Karen J. Guillemin, PhD, of University of Oregon for her use of genetically tractable animal systems to uncover mechanisms that hosts and their microbial communities utilize to shape each other during development and disease states.

Jeffrey D. Lifson, MD, at the Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research for contributing to innovative scientific and collaborative support of AIDS research, sustained quality mentorship, and scientific community service over multiple decades.

E. Michael Ostap, PhD, at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine for his distinguished contributions to the fields of biophysics and biochemistry, particularly for using single-molecule and biochemical techniques to study cytoskeletal motors.

Susan Kaech, PhD, of Salk of Institute for Biological Studies for her contributions to immunology by identifying genes and signaling molecules that generate memory T-cells during acute and chronic infections and their suppression by tumors.

Joel A. Swanson, PhD, of University of Michigan Medical School recognized for his distinguished contributions to the field of cell biology, particularly for advancing our understanding of how cells organize their cytoplasm for spatially organized activities.

Lee Zou, PhD, of Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center/ Harvard Medical School for contributing to the fields of biochemistry and cancer, particularly for studies on the maintenance of genome stability.

Gloria Cruz Ferreira, PhD, at the University of South Florida recognized for her contributions to the field of iron-heme metabolism, particularly using enzymology and spectroscopy to study heme synthesis and the molecular basis of heme-related disorders.

Nicholas E. Navin, PhD, at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center for his seminal contributions to understanding clonal evolution in breast cancer and inventing the first single-cell DNA sequencing methods, establishing the field of single cell genomics.

Keith Chi Cheng, MD, PhD, at Penn State College of Medicine for his distinguished contributions to functional genomics and imaging, particularly related to zebrafish as a model organism for human disease and skin pigmentation genetics.

Nancy M. Hollingsworth, PhD, at Stony Brook University for her impact on the field of Genetics, particularly the discovery of genes important for meiotic chromosome segregation.

Aaron DiAntonio, MD, PhD, of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis for his impact on the field of molecular and cellular neuroscience, particularly for studies of axon injury response pathways and mechanisms of pathological axon degeneration.