Boston, MA – February 14, 2013 – Susan Bonner-Weir, Ph.D., Senior Investigator in the Section on Islet Cell & Regenerative Biology at the Joslin Diabetes Center and Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School 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 and is awarded on the basis of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. Dr. Bonner-Weir is being honored for her major contributions in the areas of architecture and function of the islet, in vivo regulation of β-cell mass, and islet growth and differentiation.

According to George King, M.D., Chief Scientific Officer at Joslin, “Dr. Bonner-Weir has provided landmark contributions to the understanding on the changes in pancreatic beta cells with diabetes. Her collegial reputation on collaboration is well known and has helped to propel this field greatly.”

“This is such an honor,” said Dr. Bonner-Weir. “I’ve had enormous pleasure delving in the fascinating science of the pancreatic beta cell, which hopefully will lead to help for people with diabetes.”

Formal presentation of the award will be made during the AAAS Fellows Forum at the 2013 AAAS Annual Meeting, September 16, in Boston, MA.

About the AAAS Fellows Program

The tradition of AAAS Fellows began in 1874. Currently, members can be considered for the rank of Fellow if nominated by the steering groups of the Association’s 24 sections, or by any three Fellows who are current AAAS members (so long as two of the three sponsors are not affiliated with the nominee's institution), or by the AAAS chief executive officer. 

Each steering group then reviews the nominations of individuals within its respective section and a final list is forwarded to the AAAS Council, which votes on the aggregate list. 

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