Nancy M. Hollingsworth, distinguished teaching professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election as an AAAS Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers.
Distinguished Teaching Professor Nancy Hollingsworth
Dr. Hollingsworth was elected “for distinguished contributions to the field of genetics, particularly the discovery of genes important for meiotic chromosome segregation.”
This year, 489 members have been awarded this honor by AAAS because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.
Dr. Hollingsworth has a 30+ year record of contributions to the field of meiotic chromosome biology using the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, as a model organism. Meiosis is the evolutionarily conserved, specialized cell division that produces gametes necessary for sexual reproduction in both yeast and humans. Understanding meiosis is critical for developing methods to diagnose/prevent infertility and birth defects due to chromosomal imbalances such as Trisomy 21.
Dr. Hollingsworth also studies how DNA repair occurs during meiosis, a critical process for the maintenance of genome integrity. While at Stony Brook, she discovered the MSH5 gene, which was subsequently shown by others to be required for human fertility. She has also developed novel biochemical approaches for use in meiosis to understand how meiotic recombination is regulated by phosphorylation. In addition to her research, Dr. Hollingsworth also embraces the teaching and mentoring components of her job, which has been recognized by the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching and promotion to the position of SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor.
AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science, as well as Science Translational Medicine; Science Signaling; a digital, open-access journal, Science Advances; Science Immunology; and Science Robotics. AAAS was founded in 1848 and includes more than 250 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. The nonprofit AAAS is open to all and fulfills its mission to “advance science and serve society” through initiatives in science policy, international programs, science education, public engagement, and more. For additional information about AAAS, see www.aaas.org.
