Alan Aderem, Ph.D., an internationally recognized immunologist, cell biologist and pioneer in the field of systems biology, has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society with over 120,000 members. AAAS fellows are elected by the association’s membership in honor of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.
“We are extremely proud of Alan and we are excited that his tremendous contributions to the global scientific community and field of infectious disease research have been recognized by AAAS,” said Ken Stuart, Ph.D., founder of Seattle BioMed.
President and director of Seattle BioMed since 2012, Aderem’s research focuses on diseases afflicting citizens of resource-poor countries, including HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and influenza. Aderem is currently working to integrate systems biology approaches into Seattle BioMed’s research programs in order to accelerate vaccine, diagnostics and drug development. Prior to joining Seattle BioMed, Aderem co-founded the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB) with Leroy Hood and Ruedi Aebersold in 2000 and served as its Director.
A member of AAAS’ Section on Biological Sciences, Dr. Aderem was chosen for his contributions to the field of immunology, notably, for understanding how the innate immune system recognizes and formulates responses to infectious agents.
“It’s an honor to be recognized by the AAAS, especially at such an exciting time for Seattle BioMed,” said Aderem. “Our application of systems biology to understand the infectious diseases that plague resource-poor countries is advancing us to our ultimate goal of developing vaccines, drugs, and diagnostics.”
“Alan Aderem richly deserves being inducted as a fellow of the AAAS. As a pioneer in a central field in immunology, innate immunity, he made fundamental contributions over a long career at the Rockefeller University, the University of Washington and the Institute for Systems Biology (ISB). Through his work, Aderem is bringing transformational systems approaches to the study of infectious diseases and vaccine production,” said Leroy Hood, MD, Ph.D., and President of ISB.
Aderem and the other recently inducted fellows will be formally recognized on Saturday, February 14, 2015, at the AAAS Fellows Forum during the 2015 AAAS Annual Meeting in San Jose, California.
About Seattle Biomedical Research Institute
Seattle BioMed is the largest independent, non-profit organization in the U.S. focused solely on infectious disease research. Our research is the foundation for new drugs, vaccines and diagnostics that benefit those who need our help most: the 14 million who will otherwise die each year from infectious diseases, including malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. Founded in 1976, Seattle BioMed has more than 230 staff members. By partnering with key collaborators around the globe, we strive to make discoveries that will save lives sooner. For more information, visit www.seattlebiomed.org.
