PHILADELPHIA -- Two scientists at the University of Pennsylvania are among the 213 members of the 2005 Class of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Gideon Dreyfuss, a professor in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics, and Madeleine M. Jouille, a professor in the Department of Chemistry, were acknowledged by the Academy for their scientific leadership and contributions to society.   Fellows are nominated and elected to the Academy by current members.

Dreyfuss is the Issac Norris Professor of Biochemistry and Biophysics and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator in Penn's School of Medicine. His research focuses on three interrelated topics: RNA-binding proteins, the transport of RNAs and proteins between the nucleus and cytoplasm and the molecular functions of SMN, the protein responsible for the neurodegenerative disease spinal muscular atrophy.

Jouille is the Class of 1970 Professor of Chemistry in Penn's School of Arts and Sciences.  Her laboratory explores a wide range of topics involving organic and medicinal chemistry.  She earned her Ph.D. at Penn in 1953 and has since become a pioneering figure among women in chemistry.  She has received numerous awards for science and teaching throughout her career, including the Cope Senior Scholar Award from the American Chemical Society.

A complete list of newly elected members and their affiliations is available  at www.amacad.org.

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