4 professors elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Photo collage featuring head shots, clockwise from top left, of UCLA professors Eva Baker, Elizabeth Ligon Bjork, Angela Riley and Ursula Heise

Four UCLA faculty members have been elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honorary societies. Eva Baker, Elizabeth Ligon Bjork, Ursula Heise and Angela Riley are among the 252 leaders in academia, the arts, science, industry, journalism, philanthropy, policy and research chosen for membership this year. The new members will be inducted in October at the academy’s headquarters in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ► Read more

Trio of professors elected to National Academy of Sciences

Photo collage featuring close shots of (from left) UCLA professors Craig manning (in white collared shirt); Eric Becklin (in gray cardigan, with model airplane) and Martin Gilens (in purple collared shirt).

UCLA’s Eric Becklin, Martin Gilens and Craig Manning have been elected to the National Academy of Sciences in recognition of their achievements in original research and their impact in advancing knowledge within their fields. The three professors, whose areas of expertise range from astronomy and Earth sciences to politics and public policy, are now members of one of the most prestigious honors a U.S. scholar can receive. ► Read more

Thomas Dumitrescu wins New Horizons in Physics Prize

Black-and-white close-up of Thomas Dumitrescu wearing dark T-shirt and glasses

UCLA physicist and associate professor Thomas Dumitrescu has been awarded a 2026 New Horizons in Physics Prize for his research in quantum field theory, particle physics, condensed matter physics, string theory and quantum information theory. The $100,000 prize, awarded to promising early-career researchers who have already produced important work, is part of a larger set of prizes awarded annually in life sciences, fundamental physics and mathematics by the Breakthrough Prize Foundation. ► Read more

Jonathan Bergman named a 2026 Young Urologist of the Year

Head-and-shoulders photo of Jonathan Bergman in white coat and dark tie.

Dr. Jonathan Bergman, professor of urology and family medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, has been named a 2026 Young Urologist of the Year by the American Urological Association. He is one of nine urologists nationwide to receive this year’s honor. Bergman was recognized for his leadership in implementing a virtual call program that allows one resident to serve as a command center for multiple sites, helping ease the burden on trainees. ► Read more

Barbara Bates-Jensen named interim dean of school of nursing

Head-and-shoulders portrait of nursing professor Barbara Bates-Jensen, who wears a dark plaid coat and dark green blouse, against a light blue background.

Barbara M. Bates-Jensen, professor of nursing and medicine and associate dean of academic affairs, has been named interim dean of the UCLA Joe C. Wen School of Nursing, beginning Aug. 1. She is internationally recognized for her clinical research highlighting wound care best practices and eliminating disparities that exist in the detection of skin and tissue damage among persons of color. Dr. BBJ, as she is fondly known, has been a member of the UCLA faculty for nearly 25 years.   ► Read more

Kelly Lytle Hernández elected vice president of Society of American Historians

Close-up of Kelly Lytle Hernández, wearing dark top, glasses and earrings.

Professor, historian and MacArthur Fellow Kelly Lytle Hernández, holder of the Thomas E. Lifka Endowed Chair in History, has been elected vice president of the Society of American Historians, whose mission is to advance and recognize excellence in historical writing. Known for her unflinching examinations of race, power and state violence, Lytle Hernández is the author of several award-winning books. ► Read more

Alexandra Minna Stern elected to Society of American Historians

Head-and-shoulders photo of Alexandra Minna Stern wearing red top, black jacket and glasses.

Alexandra Minna Stern, dean of the UCLA College Division of Humanities, has been elected to the Society of American Historians. The honor is a recognition of the excellence and import of her historical writing, which has covered subjects including the uses and misuses of genetics in the U.S. and Latin America. Stern has served as dean of the Humanities Division since 2022, and she holds faculty appointments in the departments of English and history, and in the UCLA Institute for Society and Genetics. ► Read more

Michael Berry and Chinese novelist Fang Fang win book prize

Collage of Michael Berry head-and-shoulders photo next to "The Running Flame" book cover of a flame against a black background.

Michael Berry, director of the UCLA Center for Chinese Studies, and contemporary Chinese novelist Fang Fang have together won the 2025 Baifang Schell Book Prize for Fiction as translator and author, respectively, of the English-language translation of “The Running Flame.” Berry, a well-known scholar of Chinese culture and film, is a prolific translator of Sinophone fiction. He has translated three works by Fang Fang, the first of which was “Wuhan Diary.”  ► Read more

Ninez Ponce honored by AcademyHealth for her influence on US health policy

Head-and-shoulders photo of Ninez Ponce wearing glasses and blue top

Ninez Ponce, director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research, has been honored with AcademyHealth’s 2026 Gail Wilensky Award for Impact in Health Policy. The award recognizes leaders whose work has positively shaped U.S. health policy by developing and applying rigorous evidence. Throughout Ponce’s career as a researcher and scholar, she has advanced health equity in public policy by championing data disaggregation to demonstrate how population averages too often mask the needs of underrepresented populations. ► Read more

Justin Dunnavant named Joan Silsbee Professor of African Cultural Archaeology

Justin Dunnavant sits cross-legged, wearing a yellow beanie and orange button-down shirt.

UCLA has appointed Justin Dunnavant the Joan Silsbee Professor of African Cultural Archaeology, recognizing his scholarship and leadership in cultural anthropology and archaeology. Dunnavant is an assistant professor in the anthropology department, a core faculty member of UCLA’s Cotsen Institute of Archaeology and a maritime archaeologist. His research explores the historical archaeology of Africa and the African Diaspora, particularly focused on the transatlantic slave trade and its ecological impact, maritime archaeology and community-based archaeology. ► Read more

UCLA's 2026 Grad Slam winner strives to understand sleep disruptions

Midrange shot of Christian Gerard Capuno in gray suit in front of blue background

Christian Gerard Capuno describes sleep as having two essential components: duration, or the time the brain needs to perform essential processes, and quality, which determines whether those processes are successfully completed. For people with myotonic dystrophy, one inherited form of muscular dystrophy, sleep is especially critical – and its challenges are often overlooked. Capuno’s presentation “Understanding Sleep Disruptions in Myotonic Dystrophy” won UCLA’s 2026 Grad Slam competition, which showcases graduate research and strengthen public communication. ► Read more