5 UCLA professors named fellows by American Association for the Advancement of Science

Five UCLA scholars have been selected as fellows by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and the publisher of the journal Science. Members are chosen for their distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. The selection of fellows has been an AAAS tradition since 1874.

UCLA’s new fellows are among 539 scholars selected this year. The new fellows will be honored Feb. 18, 2012, at the AAAS annual meeting in Vancouver, and they will be announced in the "AAAS News and Notes" section of the journal Science on Dec. 23. UCLA’s new fellows are:

Cole, associate professor in the division of hematology–oncology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, was honored for "pullulating research on the social regulation of human, viral and cancer genomes using functional genomics and bioinformatics to map the signal transduction pathways." His laboratory studies the social regulation of gene expression and the biochemical signaling pathways involved.

Green, professor of mathematics, has worked in a number of branches of math, including several complex variables, commutative algebra, Hodge theory and algebraic geometry. He was the co-founder and longtime director of UCLA’s Institute for Pure and Applied Mathematics, a national research institute funded by the National Science Foundation that fosters interdisciplinary collaboration among mathematical scientists and physical scientists, engineers, biologists, medical researchers, and researchers in the humanities and social sciences.

Modlin is UCLA’s Klein Professor of Dermatology, a professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics, and chief of the dermatology division at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He was honored for "distinguished contributions toward understanding human antimicrobial pathways, including Th1/Th2 cytokines, TLR 2 recognition of microbial lipoproteins, and the role of vitamin D in immunity." Modlin’s laboratory has provided fundamental insights into’T cell subsets, cytokine patterns, antigen presentation, innate immunity and antimicrobial mechanisms in the human immune response to infection.

Neelin, professor and chair of UCLA’s Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, was honored for "distinguished contributions to the fields of theoretical climate dynamics and climate modeling, particularly for insights into the dynamical mechanisms underlying the behavior of the El Niño/Southern Oscillation phenomenon." A member of UCLA’s Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics, Neelin conducts research on the interactions among various elements of the climate system, starting with ocean–atmosphere interaction and spreading to others — interactions "that must be understood as fully coupled processes," he says.

Yeh, who holds the Richard G. Newman AECOM Chair in Civil Engineering at the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science, was honored for "pioneering and distinguished contributions in developing optimization models using advanced system analysis techniques to plan, manage and operate modern water resources systems." Yeh’s research interests include groundwater modeling, conjunctive-use planning of surface water and groundwater, and the development of methodologies and models for optimizing large-scale water resources systems.

The AAAS , founded in 1848, is a nonprofit organization that includes 262 affiliated societies and science academies and serves 10 million people. The association’s mission is to "advance science and serve society" through initiatives in science policy, international programs and science education, including its website devoted to science news, EurekAlert!, at www.eurekalert.org.