Carnegie's Doug Koshland Elected Fellow Of The American Academy Of Microbiology

Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry
Also Included In: Genetics;  Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 07 Feb 2009 - 0:00 PDT

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Douglas E. Koshland, staff scientist at Carnegie's Department of Embryology, has been elected one of 72 Fellows by the American Academy of Microbiology. Fellows are annually elected "through a highly selective, peer-review process, based on their records of scientific achievement and original contributions that have advanced microbiology."

Using the simple, single-celled yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Koshland has become a leader in studying the molecular processes that control the dynamics of chromosome structure and evolution - the foundations for understanding developmental problems and diseases such as cancer. He is interested in how genetic integrity is maintained during cell-division, particularly when duplicated chromosomes, known as sister chromatids, are produced, remain connected, and then separate to make two new cells.

"At a time when few believed it possible, Koshland showed how yeast could be used to reveal some of the most fundamental and important gene products and mechanisms governing animal (and human) chromosomes," remarked department director Allan Spradling. "If there was a way to measure a scientist's overall contribution of novel ideas and critical thought to his field, Doug Koshland would rank at the very top."

"All of us at Carnegie are proud of Doug's accomplishments. I know that this recognition by the American Academy of Microbiology is richly deserved," commented Carnegie president Richard A. Meserve.

Koshland has been a staff scientist at Carnegie since 1987 and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator for about half that time. He is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Biology at the Johns Hopkins University. Among his many affiliations, Koshland is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He serves on numerous editorial boards. Koshland received his B.A. from Haverford College and his Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release.
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The Carnegie Institution for Science (http://www.ciw.edu/) has been a pioneering force in basic scientific research since 1902. It is a private, nonprofit organization with six research departments throughout the U.S. Carnegie scientists are leaders in plant biology, developmental biology, astronomy, materials science, global ecology, and Earth and planetary science.

For more information on the American Academy of Microbiology see http://academy.asm.org/

Source: Tina McDowell
Carnegie Institution