Professor Catherine Woolley has been selected 2021 fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the largest general scientific society in the world.
Woolley is the William Deering Professor of Neurobiology and associate dean for research at Northwestern’s Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences and a professor of neurology at Feinberg.
The 2021 class of AAAS Fellows includes 564 scientists, engineers and innovators spanning 24 scientific disciplines, recognized for their scientifically and socially distinguished achievements.
AAAS is planning an in-person gathering for the new class of Fellows later this year.
“AAAS is proud to bestow the honor of AAAS Fellow to some of today’s brightest minds who are integral to forging our path into the future,” said Dr. Sudip Parikh, AAAS chief executive officer and executive publisher of the Science family of journals. “We celebrate these distinguished individuals for their invaluable contributions to the scientific enterprise.”
A member of the National Academy of Medicine and American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Woolley is widely known for her research on intrinsic biological differences between males and females in the molecular pathways that regulate synaptic communication in the brain. Her work has helped to explain how estrogens enhance learning and memory consolidation. Woolley’s research has provided a scientific basis to predict that male and female brains may respond differently to drugs targeting certain pathways and has helped to develop a deeper understanding of many neurological diseases.