Professors recognized as fellows
RESEARCH & INNOVATION
Omar Quintero-Carmona, a cell biologist, is counted among University of Richmond faculty members who have recently received accolades for their accomplishments. Quintero-Carmona was named an American Society for Cell Biology (ASCB) Fellow for his contributions not only to cell biology, but also his service to the organization and increasing diversity in the scientific workforce. He is one of 17 scientists — and among a few from primarily undergraduate institutions — to be selected as a fellow this year, an honor bestowed upon members by their peers.
“Omar brings a creative spirit to his work that enables him and his trainees to make unique and interesting discoveries,” said Erika Holzbaur, past president of ASCB. “Just as importantly, Omar is strongly committed to improving the culture of science and scientific education. He is an outstanding teacher, an inspirational role model, and a warm and wonderful human being. All this has made our field stronger and better.” Holzbaur has co-published with Quintero-Carmona and co-mentored UR undergraduate students.
Quintero-Carmona has mentored more than 80 undergraduates, including offering research opportunities to students with no prior laboratory experience. Supporting students and helping them make their dreams a reality is what Quintero-Carmona admits he loves doing the most.
He received ASCB’s 2021 Prize for Excellence in Inclusivity, given to a scientist who has a demonstrated history of cell biology research, and advancing inclusion and diversity in the field. Quintero-Carmona launched the George M. Langford Scientists of Color Speaker Series at UR, four years ago, to feature notable and up-and-coming Black scientists.
Jepson School of Leadership Studies faculty Chris von Rueden recently received a Human Behavior and Evolution Society Fellow Award. This award honors HBES members who have made sustained outstanding contributions to the study or teaching of evolution and human behavior and service to the Society.
An anthropologist with expertise in traditional human societies, von Rueden’s research primarily focuses on how humans form status hierarchies. He has conducted ethnographic fieldwork with Tsimane forager-horticulturalists of Amazonian Bolivia, and more recently, with Himba pastoralists of northern Namibia.
Earlier this year, anthropology professor Miguel Díaz-Barriga was named as an American Association for the Advancement of Science Fellow, which is a lifetime honor. The AAAS Fellows program honors members whose research has contributed significantly to the advancement of their field.
Díaz-Barriga was recognized for his research on borders. The AAAS noted “his distinguished contributions in the anthropological study of border fencing and militarization and its consequences for the people who live, work, and pass through these border regions.”