University of Iowa professor Gail Bishop has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general-scientific society and publisher of the journal Science. Election as an AAAS Fellow is an honor bestowed upon AAAS members by their peers.

As part of the Biological Sciences Section, Bishop, a professor of microbiology and immunology at the UI Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, was selected for her distinguished contributions to the field of immunology, particularly for insights into regulation of T and B lymphocyte activation.

This year, 443 members were awarded this honor by the AAAS because of their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.

“I am very honored by this recognition from my scientific colleagues,” says Bishop, who also is associate director for basic science research at Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center at the UI, and a professor of internal medicine.

Bishop joined the UI in 1989. Her research focuses on the molecular mechanisms that regulate the function of blood cells known as lymphocytes in normal immunity, inflammatory disease, and cancer. In particular, Bishop and her team are investigating lymphocyte signaling and interactions between innate and adaptive immune receptors. Her work has implications for treating B-cell cancers, including multiple myeloma, and developing cancer vaccines.

She received a doctoral degree in cellular and molecular biology from the University of Michigan in 1983 and performed postdoctoral research at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, focusing on understanding the molecular mechanisms of B lymphocyte activation and interactions between B cells and T cells.

Bishop has served in many roles during her 30-year UI career. She was appointed as endowed College of Medicine Distinguished Professor of Microbiology in 2001 and Holden Chair of Cancer Biology in 2004; from 1998 to 2013, she directed the Immunology Graduate Program; and in 2004, she was appointed associate director for basic science research of Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center.

“This is such a well-deserved honor for Dr. Bishop, who exemplifies the values that we believe make the University of Iowa great,” says Brooks Jackson, UI vice president for medical affairs and the Tyrone D. Artz Dean of the UI Carver College of Medicine. “As her election to the AAAS demonstrates, she is an established leader in her field of immunology, and she has coupled that scientific success with a deep commitment to training and mentoring the next generation of scientists. Her leadership within our research community has helped to shape an environment where collaboration and collegiality are valued and fostered.”

Bishop also is the recipient of many awards and honors for service to the field of immunology. She served as both a section editor of The Journal of Immunology, and is on the current editorial board of the Journal of Leukocyte Biology. She has served as a grant reviewer for the National Science Foundation, the American Heart Association, and the National Institutes of Health, serving as chair of the NIH Tumors, Tolerance and Transplantation study section.

In 2003, she received the UI Graduate Mentoring Award, and in 2009 was awarded the Iowa Technology Association’s Woman of Innovation award for academic research innovation and leadership. Bishop served as president of the American Association of Immunologists in 2012–13, and is the director of the UI Center for Immunology and Immune-Based Diseases. She was elected as a Distinguished Fellow of the American Association of Immunologists in 2019.

This year’s AAAS Fellows will be formally announced in the AAAS News and Notes section of the journal Science on Nov. 29.