Three UC San Diego Scientists Elected AAAS Fellows

Dr. Zea Borok, Helen M. Ranney Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine, is a recognized physician-scientist in the field of pulmonology. Her research focuses on the role of the lung alveolar epithelium in health and disease. She was elected to the Association of American Physicians in 2014 and has received several awards from national and international organizations including the Mayo H. Soley Award from the Western Society for Clinical Investigation in 2017. In addition, the American Thoracic Society has recognized Borok with a Recognition Award for Scientific Accomplishment (2014), the Elizabeth Rich Award from the American Thoracic Society (2017) and named her a J. Burns Amberson Lecturer (2023). Passionate about gender equity in science and training the next generation of health care leaders, she has mentored numerous trainees and junior faculty members, helping them carve out areas of expertise that ultimately benefit patients and the community at large.

Karen Christman, a professor in the Shu Chien-Gene Lay Department of Bioengineering and the Sanford Stem Cell Institute, holds the Pierre Galletti Endowed Chair for Bioengineering Innovation and is an expert in hydrogels and biomaterials that heal tissues inside the body. Her lab develops biomaterials that can be injected intravenously, via catheter, or via syringe, to reduce inflammation and promote cell and tissue repair. Applications include treating tissue damage caused by heart attacks, congenital heart defects, pelvic floor disorders, and menopause. Christman cofounded Ventrix Bio, a startup that aims to commercialize a hydrogel that helps repair damage and restore cardiac function in heart failure patients who have previously suffered a heart attack. In 2019, Ventrix Bio successfully conducted a first-in-human, FDA-approved Phase 1 clinical trial of the hydrogel. The FDA approved an investigational new drug application for Emory researchers to start a clinical trial with the hydrogel in pediatric patients in fall 2025. The goal is to mitigate damage to the right ventricle of the heart for infants born without a functional left ventricle. Christman is a fellow of several societies including the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering and a senior member of the National Academy of Inventors.

Linda Preiss Rothschild is a Distinguished Professor Emerita in the Department of Mathematics. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania and her Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Before joining UC San Diego, she held faculty positions at Tufts, Columbia, Princeton and the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her NSF-supported research, mainly in the area of analysis of several complex variables, has been recognized by invitations to speak at many international meetings and with the Stefan Bergman Prize. She is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a fellow of both the American Mathematical Society (AMS) and the Association for Women in Mathematics (AWM). She has served the mathematical community as a vice president of the AMS and president of the AWM, as well as by participation on many editorial boards and NSF panels.

“This year’s class of Fellows are the embodiment of scientific excellence and service to our communities,” said Sudip S. Parikh, AAAS chief executive officer and executive publisher of the Science family of journals. “At a time when the future of the scientific enterprise in the U.S. and around the world is uncertain, their work demonstrates the value of sustained investment in science and engineering.”

AAAS first launched this lifetime recognition in 1874, about 25 years after the association was founded. AAAS Members can be considered for the rank of Fellow if nominated by the Steering Committees of the association’s 24 sections across scientific and engineering disciplines, by three Fellows who are current AAAS Members, or by the CEO of AAAS. For the full list of the 2023 AAAS Fellows, visit the AAAS website.