麻豆视频Biomedical Genetics Professor named a fellow of the AAAS
Douglas Portman, PhD, holds the Donald M. Foster, MD Professorship in Biomedical Genetics and is a professor of Neuroscience and Biology at the 麻豆视频, was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science.
Each year the AAAS Council elects members whose “efforts on behalf of the advancement of science, or its applications, are scientifically or socially distinguished.” Portman, a member of the University’s Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience, was elected a Fellow for his “distinguished contributions to the field of behavioral neuroscience, particularly for elucidating mechanisms of sexual dimorphism of behavior, and for outstanding mentoring of the next generation of neuroscientists.”
“Dr. Douglas Portman provides a first glimpse of how sex differences in behavior can emerge from the activity of neuronal circuits that are genetically programmed in a sex-specific manner. This is truly ground-breaking work in the field of neuroscience,” said Hartmut Land, PhD, Robert and Dorothy Markin Professor and Chair of Biomedical Genetics. “At the same time, Doug has been an outstanding mentor to many young scientists in the fields of neuroscience and genetics. He is a highly deserving AAAS Fellow. We are very proud of him being honored in this manner.”
Portman came to the Medical Center in 2003. His research aims to find genetic underpinnings of sex differences in the development and function of neural circuits. By using the model system C. elegans (a roundworm), the Portman Lab has made important discoveries related to the role that genes play in sculpting innate behavior, including that male roundworms will choose sex over food and that modulation of sensory perception plays an important role in bringing flexibility to decision-making.
Doug is also devoted to our trainees, providing guidance, space, and inspiration to the next generation of diverse scientists.”
Portman is the director of the Biomedical Genetics and Genomics Graduate Program. He has also served as the director of the admissions committee for the Neuroscience Graduate Program and has been a panel chair for the National Institutes of Health Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award fellowship program for pre-doctoral students.
“His research plays a pivotal role in Neuroscience. Model organisms are a vital tool in our quest to understand the complex architecture of neuronal networks and the actions of signaling molecules and pathways - questions we simply cannot ask in larger animal models or humans,” said John Foxe, PhD, director of the Del Monte Institute for Neuroscience and chair of the Neuroscience Department. “Beyond his research, Doug is also devoted to our trainees, providing guidance, space, and inspiration to the next generation of diverse scientists.”
“I'm feeling both honored and humbled to have been elected an AAAS Fellow,” Portman said. “The contributions for which I've been recognized have truly been a group effort, and I'm tremendously privileged to have worked with many wonderful undergrads, graduate students, and postdocs during my time at Rochester. Having the support of two collegial and collaborative communities—the University of Rochester and the field of C. elegans neuroscience—has also been instrumental in the progress we've been able to make.”
Portman has received numerous honors including the Mentoring of Basic Science Trainees Award and the Graduate Student Society Faculty Award at the University of Rochester. Portman is a member of the board of reviewing editors for eLife and has served on numerous review panels for the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and many international funding agencies. He is active in various professional organizations, including the Genetics Society of America and Society for Neuroscience. His research has been featured in prominent peer-reviewed journals such as Current Biology, Developmental Cell, and eLife. Research in his laboratory is currently supported by a prestigious R35 Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences of the National Institutes of Health.
