MEMPHIS, Tenn., Dec. 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Charles Sherr, M.D., Ph.D., co-chair of Genetics and Tumor Cell Biology at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, has been awarded the distinction of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) Fellow. AAAS is the world's largest general scientific society.

Awarded for his contributions to the understanding of the mammalian cell division cycle and tumor suppressor genes, Sherr is among 531 members who have been given the AAAS Fellowship this year. Fellowship is based on scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications and election bestowed by peers.

"Dr. Sherr ushered in a new era of research at St. Jude and is one of the world's premier scientists. The AAAS Fellowship is the latest in a long list of awards and recognitions for his outstanding contributions to cancer research," said Dr. William Evans, St. Jude director and CEO.

New fellows will be awarded at the AAAS Fellows Forum during the 2010 AAAS Annual Meeting in San Diego in February.

Sherr was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1995, and to the Institute of Medicine in 2004. Among other distinguished achievements, he received Pezcoller-AACR International Award for Cancer Research; the Bristol-Myers Squibb Award for Distinguished Achievement in Cancer Research; the Landon-AACR Prize for Cancer Research; and the Charles S. Mott Prize by the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation. Sherr holds the Herrick Foundation Endowed Chair.

Other St. Jude faculty members who are currently AAAS Fellows include Evans; James Downing, M.D., scientific director; and Ching-Hon Pui, M.D., Oncology department chair.

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is internationally recognized for its pioneering work in finding cures and saving children with cancer and other catastrophic diseases. Founded by late entertainer Danny Thomas and based in Memphis, Tenn., St. Jude freely shares its discoveries with scientific and medical communities around the world. No family ever pays for treatments not covered by insurance, and families without insurance are never asked to pay. St. Jude is financially supported by ALSAC, its fundraising organization. For more information, please visit www.stjude.org.

SOURCE St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

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