Victor Ambros, PhD, the Silverman Chair in Natural Sciences and professor of molecular medicine, has been elected by his peers as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).

Dr. Ambros, a central figure in RNA biology, was elected for his contributions to the study of genetics. Ambros and his lab discovered microRNA, also known as miRNA, in the nematode C. elegans in 1993. These tiny RNA molecules have the ability to regulate or silence gene expression, giving them a profound and far-reaching impact on most biological processes governing health and disease, including development, aging, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, schizophrenia and many others.

Ambros completed his undergraduate and graduate degrees and his postdoctoral research at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He joined the faculty at Harvard in 1984 and remained there until 1992, when he accepted a faculty position at Dartmouth. He arrived at UMMS in 2007.