Three Johns Hopkins researchers named AAAS fellows

Two researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and one from JHU's Krieger School of Arts and Sciences have been elected 2024 fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the largest scientific society in the world and publisher of the Science family of journals.

They are among the 471 scientists, engineers, and innovators joining the AAAS fellows this year, based on their scientifically and socially distinguished efforts to advance science. Becoming an AAAS fellow is considered among the highest achievements in the scientific community.

The 2024 AAAS fellows from Johns Hopkins are:

James Berger

James Berger, director of the Institute for Basic Biomedical Sciences at the School of Medicine, is a biophysics expert who studies how the structure and mechanism of molecular machines inside cells help control DNA replication, regulate how genes make proteins, and guide the chromosomes that contain genetic information to twist, bend, fold and change shape. Berger is a professor in the Department of Biophysics & Biophysical Chemistry at the School of Medicine who also co-directs the Cancer Chemical and Structural Biology Program for the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and serves as the interim vice dean for basic research. Berger has received numerous awards for his research, and he is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, and the National Academy of Sciences.

Karen Fleming

Karen Fleming, professor in the Department of Biophysics, is an expert in the field of molecular biophysics, using biophysical methods to understand transmembrane protein folding and assembly. She was the inaugural recipient of the Arne Tiselius Young Investigator Award, a recipient of the Department of Defense Career Award, and a recipient of the 2016 Thomas E. Thompson Award from the Biophysical Society. She has served on the Executive Council of the Biophysical Society and has co-chaired the national meeting of the Biophysical Society, as well as Gordon Research Conferences on Biomolecular Interactions & Methods and Membrane Protein Folding. In addition to her scientific accomplishments, Fleming has been awarded grants, runs workshops, and gives seminars on overcoming bias and barriers to women in STEM. Her efforts have been recognized by awards from the Johns Hopkins Diversity Leadership Council in 2015 and 2017 and by the Provost's Prize for Faculty Diversity in 2019.

Gregory Kirk

Gregory Dale Kirk, vice dean for research at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and a professor of medicine, epidemiology, and oncology, is an infectious diseases epidemiologist and academic leader at the School of Medicine and the Bloomberg School. Kirk's research focuses on understanding the long-term consequences of living with HIV or hepatitis. He leads epidemiologic cohorts of persons with chronic viral infections in underrepresented populations in Baltimore and international settings. He has contributed to more than 350 peer-reviewed publications, leveraging cohort data and biospecimens to advance understanding of the course of HIV/AIDS and to describe the implications of HIV/AIDS for chronic disease risks. Kirk previously held the role of vice chair for clinical and translational research in the Department of Medicine. He earned his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine before coming to Johns Hopkins, where he completed a preventive medicine residency and obtained his Master of Public Health and doctorate in epidemiology from the Bloomberg School. He also completed an internal medicine residency at Georgetown University and a fellowship in infectious diseases at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

To view the full list of 2024 AAAS fellows, please visit the AAAS website.