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| Thoru Pederson, PhD |
Thoru Pederson, PhD, has been named the editor-in-chief of The FASEB Journal by the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. Dr. Pederson, the Vitold Arnett professor of cell biology, professor of biochemistry & molecular pharmacology, and associate vice provost for research at UMass Medical School, will commence his initial term of five years on Jan. 1, 2016, becoming the journal’s fourth editor-in-chief since it was established in 1987.
FASEB is composed of 27 societies with more than 125,000 members, making it the largest coalition of biomedical research associations in the United States. Its mission is to advance health and welfare by promoting progress and education in biological and biomedical sciences through service to member societies and collaborative advocacy.
“Dr. Pederson’s enthusiasm for the journal is infectious,” said Guy Fogleman, executive director of FASEB. “We look forward to the active and innovative leadership of our new editor-in-chief.”
Pederson’s laboratory focuses on the functional significance of specific protein-RNA interactions in eukaryotic gene expression, with emphasis on RNA traffic and processing, as well as specialized domains within the cell nucleus. He is currently investigating the live cell dynamics of CRISPR gene-editing machinery as well as its potential applications to myotonic dystrophy and ALS.
Previously, Pederson was the president of the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research, which merged with UMass Medical School in 1997. He held the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America’s Scholar Award, and served on NIH’s cell biology and molecular biology study sections. In addition, he has served on editorial boards of The FASEB Journal, Journal of Cell Biology and Molecular Biology of the Cell.
“As FASEB’s flagship publication, The FASEB Journal is one of the world’s most important and influential scientific publications,” said Pederson. “It is handsomely multidisciplinary and stands as an intersection between and among the many specialty journals in the life sciences. During my tenure, I hope to build on the tremendous work of those who preceded me to increase the journal’s reach, influence and impact.”
Related links on UMassMedNow:
Building a genomic GPS with CRISPR
Thoru Pederson elected president of Medical Exchange Club of Boston
