Scientist appointed new dean
Thomas D. Pollard, Sterling Professor of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, and professor of molecular biophysics and biochemistry and cell biology, has been named the new dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. At press time, he was scheduled to begin his term on July 1. Dean Jon Butler has stepped down after six years of service and will rejoin the departments of American studies, history, and religious studies after a sabbatical. Pollard, who holds a BA in chemistry and zoology from Pomona College and an MD from Harvard, came to Yale in 2001 after teaching at Harvard, Johns Hopkins, and UC–San Diego medical schools, and heading up the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. He has been chair of MCDB at Yale since 2004.
Dean Pollard’s research combines biochemical, biophysical, cellular, and genetic experiments to investigate the molecular basis of cellular motility and cytokinesis. He has been recognized widely by the scientific community, receiving the 2004 E. B. Wilson Medal from the American Society of Cell Biology and the 2006 Gairdner International Award (with Alan Hall of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center) for “discovering the molecular basis of cellular motility and the mechanism of its regulation,” which are critical for understanding embryonic development, the spread of malignant tumors in our bodies, and how humans defend against infections. He is a longtime fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Medicine. (For aYale Alumni Magazine report, see “Busy Bio Prof Named Graduate School Dean.”)
New student prizes awarded
The Graduate School inaugurated new prizes this year: two of the prizes honor students engaged in public service and two were given in memory of Annie Le.
Christina Roberto (EPH, psychology) received the Public Scholar award for her work on overeating and obesity. She studies how people’s choices are influenced by nutritional labels on restaurant menus and front-of-the-box packaging. Roberto’s research in nutrition standards and policy has been cited in court decisions upholding New York City’s restaurant menu labeling requirements and in the development of federal menu labeling requirements in the recent health care bill signed by President Obama.
Dana Asbury (sociology) received the first Community Service Award for the hundreds of hours she has given to Camp Antrum, which offers underprivileged local children programs in personal development, recreational activities, and academic tutoring. Her research focuses on ethnography, community organizing, consensus building and collective decisionmaking, theories of deviance and difference, and the sociology of knowledge.
Jason Wallace (MCDB) and Julie Button (microbiology) were awarded the inaugural Annie Le fellowships, in memory of the graduate student who was the victim of a tragic homicide last fall. The winners “embody the scholarly achievements, service to the Yale–New Haven community, and humanity we knew in Annie Le,” said Elias Lolis, associate professor of pharmacology.
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