CVMBS Professor Murphy Elected To World’s Largest Scientific Society
Story by Aubrey Bloom, CVMBS Communications
Dr. William Murphy, a professor in the Department of Veterinary Integrative Biosciences (VIBS) at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVMBS), was recently named a fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest multidisciplinary scientific society and a leading publisher of cutting-edge research through its Science family of journals.
Murphy was elected for distinguished contributions to the field of comparative genomics, particularly for mammalian chromosome and felid evolution advances, according to the AAAS announcement.
“I feel very honored and humbled to have been selected by AAAS as a fellow,” Murphy said. “I owe many thanks to many supportive mentors, collaborators, and colleagues throughout my career.”
VIBS colleague, professor Dr. Leif Andersson, said that Murphy was a deserving candidate for the fellowship.
“It is a very well-deserved honor for Dr. Murphy to become an AAAS fellow due to his outstanding contributions to genome biology,” Andersson said.
Dr. David Threadgill, a university distinguished professor at the Texas A&M College of Medicine and AAAS Fellow himself, said Murphy is more than deserving of the recognition.
“Being elected an AAAS fellow is a prestigious achievement,” Threadgill said. “It shows recognition of impactful scholarship in science that transcends fields, which is certainly true of Dr. Murphy.
“Dr. Murphy has clearly established himself as a leading authority in comparative genomics of mammalian evolution,” he said. “Not only has he produced the foundation for the field, (but) he has recently expanded the application of his pioneering work to provide a focused view of felid evolution. These advances will no doubt be profoundly impactful for understanding how mammals evolved and, more importantly, how changing ecosystems may impact species preservation and future evolutionary adaptations.”
Earlier this year, Murphy was named a Chancellor Enhancing Development and Generating Excellence in Scholarship (EDGES) Fellow by The Texas A&M University System as well as being named a University Professor.
Fellow Aggie Fellows
He is among 489 scientists, engineers, and innovators, including five others from Texas A&M University, who will be inducted during the AAAS virtual meeting in February 2021.
“Congratulations to our 2020 class of AAAS Fellows,” Texas A&M Vice President for Research Mark A. Barteau said. “Each of these outstanding faculty members has made significant contributions to the advancement of science around the world, as well as to The Texas A&M University System, Texas A&M, and our research missions.”
The other 2020 AAAS Fellows from Texas A&M University are:
- Harold Boas, Regents Professor, Department of Mathematics, College of Science
- David Cairns, department head and professor, Department of Geography, College of Geosciences
- Paul Hardin, University Distinguished Professor, Department of Biology, College of Science
- Ravi Kumar, professor, Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, College of Pharmacy
- Karen Wooley, University Distinguished Professor and holder of the W.T. Doherty-Welch Foundation Chair, Department of Chemistry, College of Science
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Contact Information: Jennifer Gauntt, Director of CVMBS Communications, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences; jgauntt@cvm.tamu.edu; 979-862-4216
