UMass Boston

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has elected Professor of Biology Liam Revell to its newest class of AAAS Fellows, an extremely selective and prestigious honor bestowed by the scientific community.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the foremost scientific institution in the United States and the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the Science family of journals, has elected a UMass Boston biology professor to the newest class of AAAS Fellows. As an AAAS Honorary Fellow, Liam Revell joins a select group of scholars and innovators who have been recognized for their exceptional contributions to the advancement of science. This prestigious honor not only highlights Revell’s distinguished career but also reflects the broader impact of his work on the scientific community as a whole.

According to their website, AAAS fellows are a “distinguished cadre of scientists, engineers and innovators who have been recognized for their achievements across disciplines, from research, teaching, and technology, to administration in academia, industry and government, to excellence in communicating and interpreting science to the public.”

Revell is recognized for his work in phylogenetic biology. His research focuses on developing methods and software to analyze phylogenetic data. 

“Phylogenetic trees (also known as phylogenies) are the graphs used to represent the relationships among living organisms that share common ancestry in the past,” said Revell. “These might be biological species, but the relationships of many other entities can also be represented by phylogenetic trees: bacteria, viruses, cell lines within a single organism, and even human languages.” 

Revell’s primary software contribution is a multifunctional package called phytools, which represents the accumulation of many projects over more than a decade and a half of work. His work on computer methods for the analysis of phylogenetic data is widely used in phylogenetic comparative biology: phytools has thousands of global users and nearly 10,000 citations in scientific articles according to Google Scholar.

When asked about the significance of the fellowship, Revell shared, “It helps to underline the importance of phylogenetics, a field of research that originated in basic science, but now enjoys broader use across a range of areas, including in applied scientific fields.”

“It’s also a very nice recognition to be able to share with my department and my university, who have both supported me well throughout my career to this point,” he added. 

Revell noted the significant impact of two UMass Boston colleagues on his career and accomplishments. “Ron Etter, who recently retired, played a key role in my hiring, my junior faculty mentorship, and my promotion both to associate and full professor. I’m extremely grateful for Ron’s support over the years, and especially in my earliest days as a member of the department,” Revell shared.

He also reflected on the loss of biology professor Rick Kesseli, who passed away in February of this year. “Rick was immeasurably supportive over my career at all stages at UMass Boston, and taught me, both by leadership and by example, so very much about what it means to be a scientist, a scholar, a colleague, a mentor, a friend, and most importantly, a good human being.”

Revell also acknowledged benefiting from mentors and collaborators outside the university community, including Luke Harmon (University of Idaho), Luke Mahler (University of Toronto), and his doctoral advisor Jonathan Losos (Washington University in St. Louis).

This honor comes as a testament to Revell’s dedication to scientific inquiry and his continued commitment to making meaningful contributions to the field of evolutionary biology. “It’s an honor and a privilege to be elected a fellow of the AAAS,” Revell said. “I hope that it brings at least a small amount of recognition to my department and the university as a whole.”