West Virginia University Professor Elected FASEB President

By: Glendy Vasquez and Jennifer Zeitzer
Wednesday, July 9, 2025
Eric E. Kelley, PhD, was elected President of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) and began his term on July 1, 2025. Kelley is Professor and Associate Chair of Research in the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology at West Virginia University (WVU) Health Sciences Center. He will serve as President until June 30, 2026.

A classically trained redox biologist, Kelley collaborates with experts in various related fields, including cardiology and oncology. He is actively involved in the Society for Redox Biology and Medicine (SfRBM), serving in multiple leadership positions, and was appointed by SfRBM to the FASEB Board of Directors and Science Policy Committee. 

In addition to Kelley, H. Joseph Yost and Rachel Brewster also moved into new officer positions on the FASEB Board of Directors. 

A professor and researcher, H. Joseph Yost, PhD, serves as Vice President for Science Policy. Yost is the Senior Vice Provost for Research at the Catholic University of America. Yost has served on FASEB’s Leadership Development Committee and Science Policy Committee and is a member of the American Association for Anatomy. Rachel M. Brewster, PhD, serves as Vice President for Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion. She is a professor of biology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. She has served multiple terms on FASEB’s Excellence in Science Award Committee and Meetings Committee and was appointed to the FASEB Board of Directors by the Society for Developmental Biology. 

Additionally, the FASEB Board of Directors appointed two early-career researchers to serve in the FASEB leadership. They are:

• Pamela Ajuyah Robertson, PhD, a Genomics Specialist and Senior Biocurator for the Clinical Genome Resource program at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, is an early-career representative on the FASEB Board. Robertson is a member of the Association for Molecular Pathology (AMP) and serves on their Professional Relations Committee.
• Lorenzo Smith, a doctoral candidate at the University of Utah and a member of the Endocrine Society. He will serve as an early-career representative on FASEB’s Science Policy Committee. Smith is also a recent alumnus of FASEB’s Howard Garrison Advocacy Fellowship program.  

FASEB issued a press release announcing the new officers and the 2025–2026 FASEB Board of Directors Executive Committee:

• Eric E. Kelley of West Virginia University Health Sciences Center, President; 
• Michael N. Lehman of Kent State University, President-elect; 
• Beth A. Garvy of University of Kentucky College of Medicine, Immediate Past President; 
• H. Joseph Yost of the Catholic University of America, Vice President for Science Policy;  
• Judy L. Cannon of the University of New Mexico, Vice President-elect for Science Policy; 
• Rachel M. Brewster of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Vice President for DEAI;  
• Zanthia Wiley of Emory University School of Medicine, Vice President-elect for DEAI; 
• Thomas L. Clemens of University of Maryland School of Medicine, Treasurer;
• Clifford V. Harding of Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Treasurer-elect;
• Bill J. Yates of the University of Pittsburgh, Board Representative;
• Lee-Ann Allen of Texas Biomedical Research Institute, Board Representative.