Dr. Melissa Emery Thompson Receives Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association for the Advancement of Science
Departmental News
Posted: Mar 27, 2025 - 12:00pm
Melissa Emery Thompson, professor and associate chair of The University of New Mexico’s Anthropology Department [and Assistant Vice President for Research at UNM], has been named a 2024 American Association for the Advancement of Science or AAAS Fellow. This prestigious distinction is a lifetime honor bestowed to a small group of AAAS members across scientific disciplines who have demonstrated significant contributions in their field.
Emery Thompson is being honored for her efforts in biological anthropology, specifically her long-term research with chimpanzees. Her 25 years of research in Uganda has helped advance society’s understanding of human aging by studying how environments and lifestyles can influence the process. She and her research colleagues collaborate closely with the local community to ensure the program’s long-term sustainability.
“The College and I are extremely proud of Assistant Vice President for Research Melissa Emery Thompson’s election as a 2024 AAAS Fellow,” said Jennifer Malat, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “Professor Thompson’s pioneering work in ape behavior and biology has deepened our knowledge of human evolution and helped refine noninvasive methods for studying wild chimpanzee populations. Her research enriches the UNM community and reflects the excellence of our College’s faculty, and this honor is very well-deserved.”
Being elected as an AAAS Fellow is particularly significant because honorees cannot nominate themselves. The Fellowship process begins with an internal selection procedure, where the final nominees must be endorsed by existing fellowship members.
Thompson has received numerous professional honors over the years, most notably in 2022 when her team of UNM researchers received the MERIT award from the National Institute of Aging in recognition of their sustained contribution to aging and Thompson’s leadership and commitment to the field. She also directs the Comparative Human & Primate Physiology Center at UNM. The Center’s goal is to develop minimally invasive approaches for studying health and biological responses to the environment in humans and other species.
“It is a tremendous honor to have been recognized by and to join the ranks of colleagues in the AAAS, who I have admired my entire career,” said Thompson. “Now, more than ever, it is vital to have such organizations advocating for scientific literacy, inclusivity and informed policy making.”
Thompson’s Fellowship contemporaries are employed at top U.S. institutions, including Los Alamos National Laboratory, Harvard, Yale and Northwestern Universities.
To learn more about Thompson’s work, visit her faculty profile.
Emery Thompson is being honored for her efforts in biological anthropology, specifically her long-term research with chimpanzees. Her 25 years of research in Uganda has helped advance society’s understanding of human aging by studying how environments and lifestyles can influence the process. She and her research colleagues collaborate closely with the local community to ensure the program’s long-term sustainability.
“The College and I are extremely proud of Assistant Vice President for Research Melissa Emery Thompson’s election as a 2024 AAAS Fellow,” said Jennifer Malat, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “Professor Thompson’s pioneering work in ape behavior and biology has deepened our knowledge of human evolution and helped refine noninvasive methods for studying wild chimpanzee populations. Her research enriches the UNM community and reflects the excellence of our College’s faculty, and this honor is very well-deserved.”
Being elected as an AAAS Fellow is particularly significant because honorees cannot nominate themselves. The Fellowship process begins with an internal selection procedure, where the final nominees must be endorsed by existing fellowship members.
Thompson has received numerous professional honors over the years, most notably in 2022 when her team of UNM researchers received the MERIT award from the National Institute of Aging in recognition of their sustained contribution to aging and Thompson’s leadership and commitment to the field. She also directs the Comparative Human & Primate Physiology Center at UNM. The Center’s goal is to develop minimally invasive approaches for studying health and biological responses to the environment in humans and other species.
“It is a tremendous honor to have been recognized by and to join the ranks of colleagues in the AAAS, who I have admired my entire career,” said Thompson. “Now, more than ever, it is vital to have such organizations advocating for scientific literacy, inclusivity and informed policy making.”
Thompson’s Fellowship contemporaries are employed at top U.S. institutions, including Los Alamos National Laboratory, Harvard, Yale and Northwestern Universities.
To learn more about Thompson’s work, visit her faculty profile.
