The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), which was founded in 1848 and is the world’s largest general scientific society, has announced their 2025 Fellows. This lifetime honor follows a nomination and review process to recognize scientists, engineers, and innovators for their distinguished achievements toward the advancement or applications of science. The 2025 Fellows class—among them three scientists at Berkeley Lab—includes 449 scientists, engineers, and innovators spanning 24 scientific disciplines.
The two newly named Fellows from the Biosciences Area are Abby Dernburg, a senior faculty scientist in the Biological Systems and Engineering (BSE) Division, and Blake Simmons, Director of the BSE Division and Chief Science & Technology Officer at the Joint BioEnergy Institute (JBEI).
Dernburg has been recognized for “distinguished contributions to the field of meiosis, particularly the mechanisms that govern chromosome architecture, dynamics, and genome integrity.” Dernburg studies how DNA is organized within cells, and how this physical organization contributes to genome function. She focuses on the specialized cell division process of meiosis, which leads to the creation of reproductive cells like sperm, eggs, and pollen. Her work uses animal models, genomic tools, and microscopy to investigate how chromosomes pair up during meiosis, and how “quality control” mechanisms prevent errors in this process or eliminate cells in which errors have occurred. When these protective mechanisms malfunction, reproductive cells with an incorrect number of chromosomes can result, which can lead to disorders such as Down Syndrome in humans.
Simmons was elected for “distinguished contributions to the field of microbiology and biotechnology, particularly for the discovery and characterization of novel microbial biomass active enzymes, enzyme engineering, and advanced biomass pretreatment methods.” His work and contributions span from bioenergy and biotechnology to biomanufacturing and nanotechnology. Simmons’ research is focused on biomass deconstruction and conversion, enzyme engineering, tailoring advanced solvents for biomass pretreatment, abiotic-biotic interfaces, biofuels, renewable chemicals, and biomanufacturing technologies.
