Release date: Oct. 29, 2004
Contact: Beverly Cox Clark at 404-712-8780 or beverly.clark@emory.edu

Emory Professor Named 2004 AAAS Fellow

Emory University faculty member Shozo Yokoyama, Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Biology, has been elected a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Election as an AAAS fellow is an honor bestowed upon members by their peers.

Awarded to 308 members this year, the individuals were chosen because of their efforts to advance science or applications that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished. This year's AAAS Fellows will be announced in the Oct. 29 issue of the journal Science, and will be presented with an official certificate and pin Saturday, Feb. 19, at the Fellows Forum during the 2005 AAAS Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.

Yokoyama, currently president of the American Genetic Association, was selected "for pioneering experimental analyses of molecular genetics and adaptive evolution of color vision in vertebrates, including red and green color vision and UV vision." Yokoyama, who joined Emory in 2003, has published numerous papers on theoretical population genetics, molecular evolution and molecular genetics.

For the past 15 years, he has used vision as a model system to study adaptive changes of organisms. His lab has done genetic analyses of the visual pigments of a diverse range of organisms, including marine lamprey, fish, chameleons, coelacanth, geckos, zebra finches, pigeons, elephants, mice and humans. As a result, he and his laboratory have established the structure-function relationship of visual pigments during vertebrate evolution. In particular, they have contributed significantly to explaining the molecular basis of red-green color vision and ultraviolet vision.

The tradition of AAAS fellows began in 1874. Founded in 1848, AAAS has worked to advance science for human well-being through its projects, programs and publications, in the areas of science policy, science education and international scientific cooperation. AAAS and its journal, Science, form the world's largest general federation of scientists.

Emory University is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate college of arts and sciences, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. For nearly two decades Emory has been named one of the country's top 25 national universities by U.S. News & World Report. In addition to its nine schools, the university encompasses The Carter Center, Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, the state's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

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