WASHINGTON, D.C. (Jan. 12, 2010) — Paul Fitzpatrick, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry at The University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio, this week was named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Election as a Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers.
Dr. Fitzpatrick joins a select group of Health Science Center faculty who are AAAS Fellows, including Bettie Sue Masters, Ph.D., Robert Clark, M.D., Peter Fox, M.D., and Joel Baseman, Ph.D. Each received this honor for efforts to advance science or its applications.
Dr. Fitzpatrick was elected as an AAAS Fellow in the Section on Chemistry for outstanding contributions and critical insights into the mechanisms of the aromatic amino acid hydroxylases, including oxygen activation and reaction intermediates, and many years of service as chair of review panels for the National Institutes of Health and other agencies. Dr. Fitzpatrick also serves as executive editor of the journal Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics.
Dr. Fitzpatrick joined the Health Science Center in 2009. As a reflection of his stature, he is a recipient of funding from the Science and Technology Acquisition and Retention (STARS) program. STARS is an allocation of funds, approved by the UT System Board of Regents in 2004, awarded to System institutions to help attract and retain the best qualified faculty.
The tradition of AAAS Fellows began in 1874. The AAAS is the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the premier journal Science and other publications.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, one of the country’s leading health sciences universities, ranks in the top 3 percent of all institutions worldwide receiving National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding. Research and other sponsored program activity totaled a record $259 million in fiscal year 2009. The university’s schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have produced approximately 26,000 graduates. The $744 million operating budget supports eight campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. For more information on the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit www.uthscsa.edu.