Three of five leading University of South Florida researchers named to the new class of Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science are from USF Health.
John Adams, PhD; Charles J. Lockwood, MD, MHCM; and Shyam Mohapatra, PhD, MBA, have been awarded the distinction of Fellow at AAAS, the world’s largest and one of its most prestigious scientific societies.
With this year’s new Fellows class, USF again ranks fourth among all organizations worldwide, tied with University of Florida, in the designation of new AAAS Fellows, and joining Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University, Texas A&M University, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University of Texas at Austin, and University of Wisconsin-Madison. USF and UF lead Florida universities in new AAAS Fellows selection.
From left: John Adams, PhD; Charles J. Lockwood, MD, MHCM; and Shyam Mohapatra, PhD, MBA
Election as an AAAS fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers.
Dr. John Adams, elected AAAS Fellow in the the association’s Biological Sciences Section, was cited for pioneering efforts and distinguished contributions in fundamental and translational malaria research, particularly discoveries to improve antimalarial drugs and vaccines. Dr. Adams is a Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Global Health, College of Public Health, and holds joint appointments in the Department of Molecular Medicine and the Division of Infectious Disease & International Medicine, Morsani College of Medicine. He has dedicated his career to finding solutions for malaria, one of the leading causes of death and disease globally.
Dr. Charles Lockwood, elected AAAS Fellow in the Medical Sciences Section, was cited for distinguished contributions to reproductive science particularly discovery of the first biochemical marker of preterm birth, fetal fibronectin, and the molecular mechanisms underlying uterine hemostasis. Dr. Lockwood is senior vice president for USF Health and dean of the Morsani College of Medicine, and a professor of obstetrics and gynecology and public health at USF. An internationally recognized health care and research leader, Dr. Lockwood is the recipient of multiple research grant awards from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the March of Dimes and other foundations. His clinical interests include prevention of recurrent pregnancy loss, preterm delivery and maternal thrombosis, and he maintains an active laboratory at USF Health dedicated to research in these areas.
Dr. Shyam Mohapatra, elected AAAS Fellow in the Pharmaceutical Sciences Section, was cited for outstanding contributions in the field of pharmaceutical and health sciences, particularly for pioneering achievements in advancing biomedical nanotechnology for inflammatory diseases. Dr. Mohapatra is a Distinguished USF Health Professor; director of Translational Medicine; associate dean of graduate programs and professor in the College of Pharmacy; Distinguished Professor in the Institute for Advanced Discovery & Innovation; and a Department of Veteran Affairs Research Career Scientist at James A. Haley Veterans’ Hospital. He founded the USF Center for Research & Education in Nanobioengineering in 2010, and has served as center director since then. His research on the immunobiology of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), atrial natriuretic peptide signaling pathways, and nanoparticle-mediated gene/drug delivery has helped guide the fields of inflammation, immunology, infectious disease, biotherapeutics and translational medicine. He has also pioneered novel approaches for potential treatment of RSV, allergies, asthma, traumatic brain injury and cancers.
Spanning medicine, public health, and technology research, the new group of five USF Fellows are among some of the university’s most accomplished faculty members, representing decades of scientific accomplishments and more than 50 patented technologies.
