Whitehead scientist named president of Genetics Society of America

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — Whitehead Member Terry Orr-Weaver has been elected president of the Genetics Society of America, a nonprofit scientific organization whose members specialize in genetic studies. She will serve as vice president of the society in 2004, president in 2005, and as past president in 2006.

Studies under way in Orr-Weaver’s lab focus on cell division and development. Her work has identified new proteins regulating gene replication and segregation during development.

Orr-Weaver, who also is a professor of biology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, joined Whitehead and MIT in 1987 and held the Latham Family Career Development Chair from 1991 to 1994. She received her PhD in biological chemistry from Harvard University in 1984 and served as co-graduate officer for the MIT department of biology 1998-2002. She also served on the Genetics Society of America’s Board of Directors from 2000-2002.

Founded in 1931, the Genetics Society of America offers membership to scientists and academicians interested in the field of genetics studies. The Society publishes the journal Genetics which is circulated monthly to members of the Society and approximately 2,000 libraries worldwide.

“The Genetics Society of America plays a crucial role in promoting genetic research, educating both the scientific and lay communities about genetics, providing input to Congress, and organizing scientific meetings centered on genetic research in model organisms,” says Orr-Weaver. “The society’s journal, Genetics, has a rich history of landmark contributions to the scientific literature, beginning with the first paper published in 1916 that established chromosomes as the vehicles for genetic information. I’m honored to play a role in the society’s ongoing activities.”