The University of New Mexico

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Media Contact: Karen Wentworth (505) 277-5627;
kwent2@unm.edu

October 12, 2006

UNM VP Named to National Academies of Sciences Life Sciences Board

Vice President for Research and Economic Development Terry Yates has been named to the Board of Life Sciences for the National Academies of Sciences. The Board of Life Sciences serves as a focal point for a wide range of technical and policy topics in the area of life sciences, including bioterrorism, genomics, biodiversity conservation and key topics in basic biomedical research, such as stem cells.

The board also organizes and oversees studies that provide advice to government and the scientific community on the biological sciences and their impact on society. Another board activity is the oversight of important studies on the improvement of biology education, particularly at the undergraduate level. Yates was installed as a new member of the board on October 3, 2006 and his term runs through June 2009.

Yates oversees academic research activities for UNM, as well as conducting his own research into the ecology and evolution of pathogens and their hosts, and the subsequent impact on human health.

Yates' most current research involves looking at Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome using satellite imagery and field tests of deer mice to predict future risk to humans. This is a collaboration with researchers from The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Indian Health Service, the Valles Caldera National Preserve and UNM.

Yates holds joint appointments as a professor in the Biology and Pathology Departments at UNM. He is chair-elect of the Council on Research Policy and Graduate Education, an organization that includes chief research administrators in universities throughout the U.S. He is also President of the Natural Science Collections Alliance in Washington, D.C. and Curator of Genomic Resources at the Museum of Southwestern Biology at UNM.

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The University of New Mexico is the state's largest university, serving more than 32,000 students. UNM is home to the state's only schools of law, medicine, pharmacy and architecture and operates New Mexico's only academic health center. UNM is noted for comprehensive undergraduate programs and research that benefits the state and the nation.

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