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Thoru Pederson accepts the ASCB’s Award for Distinguished Service in 2015. |
Thoru Pederson, PhD, the Vitold Arnett Professor of Cell Biology, professor of biochemistry & molecular pharmacology, and associate vice provost for research, was one of 67 scientists named a 2017 fellow of the American Society for Cell Biology.
The honor of being named an ASCB fellow is bestowed to ASCB members by their peers. Fellows are recognized for their meritorious efforts to advance cell biology and its applications and for their service to ASCB.
“I am very pleased to be inducted as an ASCB fellow,” Dr. Pederson said. “The mysteries of the cell have been my science forever and ASCB has been my ‘home’ as a professional society and community since I joined in 1966.”
Pederson’s lab 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 investigating the live cell dynamics of CRISPR gene-editing machinery as well as its potential applications to myotonic dystrophy and ALS.
Pederson was scientific director of the Worcester Foundation for Biomedical Research when it merged with UMass Medical School in 1997. A member of the ASCB for more than 50 years, he was honored with the society’s Award for Distinguished Service in 2015. He is the editor-in-chief of The FASEB Journal and an editorial board member for the Journal of Cell Biology and Molecular Biology of the Cell. In 2015, he was awarded the Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Service at UMass Medical School’s annual Convocation proceedings.
To be eligible to become an ASCB fellow, a person must have been a member in good standing of ASCB for at least 10 years. Their research must have also had a significant and sustained impact on the discipline of cell biology. Typically, nominees have also served on ASCB committees, ASCB Council or as an ASCB award reviewer.
The new ASCB fellows were recognized at the 2017 ASCB|EMBO Meeting in Philadelphia on Dec. 2.
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