No new Science chief until '08

AAAS's search committee doesn't plan to get going until next year

Written byAlison McCook
| 2 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
2:00
Share
The search for a replacement for Science editor-in-chief won't pick up until 2008, according to the journal's publisher, the American Association for the Advancement of Science."What I've been told is there's going to be no activity of the search committee until next year," Ginger Pinholster, director of AAAS's office of public programs, told The Scientist in an Email. "The board of directors meets in February."In June, Donald Kennedy said he planned to retire from his post as the journal's editor-in-chief. Kennedy himself told The Scientist he remains in the dark as to who will take his place. He noted he was the "last person" who would know about his replacement, but that he was confident the search committee and chair David Baltimore will make a "good choice."Kennedy has said he would remain in the post until a replacement is named.Floyd Bloom, former editor-in-chief of Science (whom Kennedy replaced), said he has agreed to approach candidates who make the search committee's "short list" to help recruit them to the position, and has not yet received any names. He told The Scientist he doesn't even know who is on the search committee.Bloom declined to name names of who he would like to fill Kennedy's spot, but said he would prefer a scientist to someone who is primarily an administrator. As Science's editor-in-chief, he said his scientific background helped him recruit authors with unconventional ideas. "Having someone who's been a scientist do that kind of inviting gives it an extra impact."Numerous names have emerged as potential candidates, including Baltimore, Shirley Tilghman (president of Princeton University), Nobel laureate Harold Varmus (former National Institutes of Health director and current president of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center), and his co-laureate J. Michael Bishop (chancellor of the University of California, San Francisco).Who do you think will, or should, replace Don Kennedy at Science Tell us here. (Anonymous tips are welcome.)Alison McCook mail@the-scientist.comLinks within this article:K. Grens, "Who will replace Don Kennedy?" The Scientist, July 30, 2007 http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/53447/K. Grens, "No progress on Science head search," The Scientist, September 20, 2007. http://www.the-scientist.com/news/display/53603Harold Varmus http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/23543/
Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

Share
Illustration of a developing fetus surrounded by a clear fluid with a subtle yellow tinge, representing amniotic fluid.
January 2026

What Is the Amniotic Fluid Composed of?

The liquid world of fetal development provides a rich source of nutrition and protection tailored to meet the needs of the growing fetus.

View this Issue
Human-Relevant In Vitro Models Enable Predictive Drug Discovery

Advancing Drug Discovery with Complex Human In Vitro Models

Stemcell Technologies
Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Redefining Immunology Through Advanced Technologies

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Ensuring Regulatory Compliance in AAV Manufacturing with Analytical Ultracentrifugation

Beckman Coulter Logo
Conceptual multicolored vector image of cancer research, depicting various biomedical approaches to cancer therapy

Maximizing Cancer Research Model Systems

bioxcell

Products

Refeyn logo

Refeyn named in the Sunday Times 100 Tech list of the UK’s fastest-growing technology companies

Parse Logo

Parse Biosciences and Graph Therapeutics Partner to Build Large Functional Immune Perturbation Atlas

Sino Biological Logo

Sino Biological's Launch of SwiftFluo® TR-FRET Kits Pioneers a New Era in High-Throughout Kinase Inhibitor Screening

SPT Labtech Logo

SPT Labtech enables automated Twist Bioscience NGS library preparation workflows on SPT's firefly platform