Monday, December 02, 2019 — The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) elected Carnegie molecular biologist Steven Farber and retired biologist and science educator Toby Horn as AAAS fellows. This year 443 members were awarded this honor for their “scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.”
Steven Farber was awarded the honor “for distinguished contributions to the study lipid metabolism in a zebrafish model and for co-development of the Science Outreach Program, Project BioEYES.” His laboratory uses the zebrafish to visualize biochemical processes in living embryos, which are accessible because they are optically clear. Specifically, his team studies lipid modifying and transport processes in the developing embryo to understand numerous physiological processes, including cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes.
Farber has been a Carnegie staff scientist since 2004 and an adjunct associate professor at the Johns Hopkins University. He cofounded the science outreach program BioEYES in 2002 that has reached over 130,000 children worldwide. BioEYES uses the zebrafish to teach young students genetics and the experimental process “to foster an enthusiasm for science, promote interest for future science careers, and provide opportunities to learn through a hands-on, student-centered approach.”
Biologist Toby Horn was co-director of the Carnegie Academy for Science Education from 2001 to 2014 when she retired. The Academy provides hands-on opportunities for D.C. students to experience the art and fascination of science, and provides professional development in STEM for Washington, D.C., teachers. Horn served as president of the National Association of Biology Teachers in 2009 and was biotechnology laboratory director at the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, from 1985 to 1999. “Dr. Toby” now encourages public interest in Deep Time and Human Origins as a volunteer at the Smithsonian Institution.
Horn was awarded the AAAS distinction for her “distinguished contributions to the applications of scientific research and technology to the improvement of pre-college and college-level science education.”
New AAAS fellows are 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. New fellows will be presented with an official certificate and a rosette pin on Saturday, February 15, 2020, at the 2020 AAAS Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington.