Three KU professors in paleontology, medicinal chemistry and microbiology named AAAS fellows

LAWRENCE — Three University of Kansas professors have been elected as 2025 American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) fellows, a distinct honor within the scientific community.

This year’s fellows:

• K. Christopher Beard, senior curator of vertebrate paleontology at the Biodiversity Institute and Foundation Distinguished Professor of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
• Jianming Qiu, professor of virology
• Michael Wolfe, Mathias P. Mertes Professor of Medicinal Chemistry.

The 2025 class of AAAS fellows includes 449 scientists, engineers and researchers across many disciplines.

“AAAS Fellows are among the world’s top scientists, and to have three more University of Kansas researchers named fellows demonstrates KU’s strength as one of the nation’s leading research institutions,” said Chancellor Douglas A. Girod. “I congratulate Professor Beard,  Professor Qiu and Professor Wolfe on this honor that recognizes their hard work.”

K. Christopher Beard

Beard was recognized for distinguished contributions to the field of paleontology, particularly the integration of exploratory fieldwork with modern phylogenetic, biogeographic and geological approaches.

He investigates the fossil record of early mammals, specifically primates. His work aims to reconstruct the evolution and biogeography of early mammals in relation to major changes in Earth’s physical environment. He and his team discovered previously undescribed species such as Teilhardina magnoliana, one of the oldest North American primates, and Eosimias sinensis, an early anthropoid primate from China.

Beard earned a doctorate in functional anatomy and evolution from Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in 1990. Prior to joining KU, he served as curator and chair of vertebrate paleontology at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh.

Jianming Qiu

Qiu was recognized for shaping the field of virology with research on parvoviruses and gene therapy and for advancing infectious disease treatment with work on viral-host interactions, transcription and novel vectors.

His research focuses on human parvoviruses, especially a type called recombinant adeno‑associated virus (rAAV). These viruses do not cause disease in humans and are commonly used as delivery tools in gene therapy. His team studies how rAAV behaves in the body — particularly how it enters and moves through the airways. The ultimate goal of this work is to design safer and more effective gene therapies for cystic fibrosis and other lung diseases.

Qiu earned a doctorate in molecular virology at the Institute of Virology at the Chinese Academy of Preventive Medicine. Prior to joining KU, he completed postdoctoral training in molecular virology at the hematology branch of the National Heart, Lung & Blood Institute at the National Institutes of Health and in the Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology at the University of Missouri-Columbia.

Michael S. Wolfe

Wolfe was recognized for distinguished contributions to the fields of biochemistry and molecular neuroscience, particularly toward understanding the molecular basis of neurodegenerative disorders, especially Alzheimer’s disease.

His research focuses on applying systemic thinking to better understand Alzheimer’s disease on the molecular level. He uses a multitude of methods, including collecting large amounts of data to create a more holistic understanding of human ailments. This work has the potential to empower the discovery of new medications to treat neurological diseases that lack effective treatment.

Wolfe earned a doctorate in medicinal chemistry at KU. Prior to joining KU, he was a faculty member at Harvard Medical School and the University of Tennessee.

Including the three new honorees, KU now has 33 AAAS fellows as active faculty members across all its campuses.

To become a fellow, a researcher must be nominated by either one of the AAAS’s 24 steering groups, the organization’s CEO or three previously elected fellows, so long as two of those three fellows are not from the nominee’s institution. The nomination is referred to a relevant steering committee, which sends a list of finalists to the AAAS Council for selection.