Pitt Professors Selected by Peers as 2009 AAAS Fellows

PITTSBURGH- The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world's largest general scientific society, recently named two Pitt professors as AAAS Fellows in honor of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science.

Graham F. Hatfull, chair and Eberly Family Professor of Biological Sciences in Pitt's School of Arts and Sciences, and Michael Zigmond, professor of neurology, neurobiology, and psychiatry in Pitt's School of Medicine and director of Pitt's Morris K. Udall Center for Parkinson's Disease Research, were selected by their fellow AAAS members to be among the 531 2009 Fellows. The fellows will be announced in the Dec. 18 edition of Science and honored at 2010 AAAS Annual Meeting in San Diego Feb. 20.

Hatfull was recognized for his contributions to the fields of site-specific recombination, mycobacterial genetic analysis, and bacteriophage evolution as well as for educating undergraduates and high school students in science. As a microbiologist, Hatfull primarily focuses on bacteriophages-viruses that infect bacteria studied for their insight into the genetic structure and development of viruses and more complex creatures. He cofounded the Pitt-based Pittsburgh Bacteriophage Institute and, as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute professor, engages high school and undergraduate students in "phage hunting" field studies geared toward collecting and analyzing bacteriophages. Since 2006, he's collaborated with a professor from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine to improve the treatment and detection of tuberculosis. In March, their team revealed a TB detector developed from bacteriophages with fluorescent proteins that glow bright green when in contact with drug-resistant strains of TB bacteria.

Zigmond was recognized for his contributions to understanding the factors that influence neurodegenerative disease and for his service to academia, including his promotion of professional development and ethics training. Zigmond directs a research team studying Parkinson's disease. His particular interest is in the risk factors for this disease, which affects some 1.5 million people in the United States. His current focus is the impact of the lack of physical exercise among most adults, which he believes causes a decrease in neuroprotective factors within the brain. Thus, he is studying the ability of added exercise to reduce the vulnerability of the brain to toxins that can cause a Parkinsonian syndrome in animal models. He also is interested in other risk factors, such as stress and traumatic brain injury. In addition to his research efforts, Zigmond is actively involved in several educational activities. He was the founding director of the Survival Skills and Ethics Program, which provides workshops on professional skills and responsible conduct, and directs two training grants in the neurosciences sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.

For more information, contact Pitt News Representative Morgan Kelly at

412-624-4356 (office); 412-897-1400 (cell); mekelly@pitt.edu.

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