October 31, 2005

Three Penn School of Medicine Professors Named Fellows of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science

(Philadelphia, PA) - Three faculty members of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine were named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) last week. Three other Penn faculty were also elected, bringing the total to six Penn professors in this year’s list of 376 new members.

AAAS recognizes members for their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. The new Fellows will be officially inducted February 18 during the 2006 AAAS Annual Meeting in St. Louis.

This year’s AAAS Fellows were announced in the AAAS News & Notes section of the journal Science on Oct. 28.

The new Penn AAAS Fellows are:

	Ian A. Blair, professor of pharmacology, School of Medicine Citation: For distinguished contributions to the field of mass spectrometry and its applications to pharmaceutical medicine and for moving autocoid biology forward with sensitive bioanalytical techniques.
	Richard L. Doty, professor of otorhinolaryngology, School of Medicine, and director of Penn's Smell and Taste Center Citation: For distinguished contributions to the field of sensory measurement and for the development of the first widely used standardized test of olfactory function.
	Irwin B. Levitan, professor and chair of neuroscience in Penn's School of Medicine Citation: For pioneering studies of the regulation of neuronal electrical activity with focus on the modulation of ion channels in the neuronal plasma membrane.
	Dawn A. Bonnell, professor of material sciences and engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and director of Penn's Nano/Bio Interface Center Citation: For seminal studies in interface mediated behavior in nanostructures, as well as for leadership in the U.S. nanoscience community.
	Howard Kunreuther, professor of decision sciences and business and public policy, Wharton School, and co-director of Penn's Risk Management and Decision Processes Center Citation: For distinguished contributions to the understanding of environmental and technological risks and for developing tools for risk assessment and management.
	Michael J. Therien, professor of chemistry, School of Arts and Sciences Citation: For seminal contributions to the design, synthesis and physical characterization of novel chemical structures with key application in electron transfer, photonics, and medical imaging.

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PENN Medicine is a $2.7 billion enterprise dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, and high-quality patient care. PENN Medicine consists of the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine (founded in 1765 as the nation's first medical school) and the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

Penn’s School of Medicine is ranked #2 in the nation for receipt of NIH research funds; and ranked #4 in the nation in U.S. News & World Report’s most recent ranking of top research-oriented medical schools. Supporting 1,400 fulltime faculty and 700 students, the School of Medicine is recognized worldwide for its superior education and training of the next generation of physician-scientists and leaders of academic medicine.

The University of Pennsylvania Health System comprises: its flagship hospital, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, consistently rated one of the nation’s “Honor Roll” hospitals by U.S. News & World Report; Pennsylvania Hospital, the nation's first hospital; Penn Presbyterian Medical Center; a faculty practice plan; a primary-care provider network; two multispecialty satellite facilities; and home health care and hospice.

This release is available online at http://www.uphs.upenn.edu/news/News_Releases/oct05/AAAS.htm