Soni Lacefield, PhD, a professor of biochemistry and cell biology at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine, has been named a 2023 Fellow of the American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB).
Election as a Fellow of ASCB is an annual honor given to ASCB members by their peers. ASCB Fellows represent not only top-performing scientists who have contributed significantly to cell biology and to the community of scientists studying the cell, but also individuals who have worked to further ASCB’s mission throughout their careers.
With a membership that has grown to more than 7,500, the ASCB is an inclusive, international community of biologists who are dedicated to advancing scientific discovery, advocating sound research policies, improving education, promoting professional development, and increasing diversity in the scientific workforce. Since the organization’s inception in 1960, over 40 past or current ASCB members have won Nobel Prizes in medicine or chemistry.
“I was very excited to hear that I had been named an ASCB Fellow. It’s an honor to be recognized by peers who are part of such a distinguished group of scientists—not just for our research contributions but also the service that we do for the Society,” says Lacefield, who serves on the ASCB’s Public Policy Committee. She also works to promote diversity in science through a summer research program she established that brings students from Africa to work in labs at Geisel.
Lacefield’s research is focused on understanding cell cycle regulation in meiosis (the type of cell division that creates gametes, like egg and sperm cells) and mitosis (the process of making the other cells in our body). Errors in meiosis can have serious consequences, causing miscarriage, infertility, and trisomy conditions (such as Down Syndrome). Errors in mitotic cell cycle regulation can result in cancer.
One of 19 new Fellows chosen by ASCB for this year, Lacefield and the members of her cohort will be formally recognized at Cell Bio 2023, the joint meeting of the American Society for Cell Biology and the European Molecular Biology Organization, that will take place in Boston in December.
