AAAS elects three Duke faculty fellows

DURHAM — Three faculty members from Duke University Medical Center are among 531 scientists elected as fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science this year.

The AAAS, publisher of the journal Science, elevates notable members to the rank of fellow to recognize efforts in research that are deemed scientifically or socially distinguished.

The new AAAS scientists from Duke University Medical Center are:

n Daniel Lew, professor, department of pharmacology and cancer biology. Lew was selected for distinguished contributions to microbiology, elucidating mechanisms of cell cycle control, polarity establishment and cell cycle checkpoint enforcement in the model budding yeast.

n Joseph St. Geme III, professor and chair of the department of pediatrics. St. Geme was selected for distinguished contributions to the field of microbial pathogenesis, particularly for elucidating the structure and function of bacterial protein secretion systems and other virulence factors.

n Xiao-Fan Wang, professor, department of pharmacology and cancer biology. Wang was selected for distinguished and long-term contributions to understanding the biology of cancer cells with respect to cell signaling, proliferation and check point control.

Former secretary a Duke visiting scholar

DURHAM — William Ross Jr., former secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources, has joined Duke University as a visiting scholar.

Ross will hold a joint appointment in the Duke Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Nicholas School of the Environment. His work will focus on the development of environmental policies and plans for a new Cancer Center program that will focus on environmental factors that can lead to cancer.

Ross is an attorney specializing in environmental law. He was a partner with the Greensboro and Raleigh law firm of Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard before serving as secretary of DENR from 2001 to 2009.

Duke law students win JAG competition

DURHAM — Two Duke University law school students have won the top prize in a major law school competition.

Andrew Shadoff and Greg Dixon received the best brief award in the Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps inaugural National Moot Court Competition held at the naval air station in Jacksonville, Fla.

Twenty-three teams, representing some of the highest caliber law schools in the country including Harvard, Yale, Georgetown and the University of California Berkeley, participated in the competition.

Shadoff and Dixon co-wrote the brief and then argued separately about suppression of evidence and search and seizure issues in a military justice context.

— Compiled by Neil Offen