Biophysicist Joins Ranks of Elite Scientists as AAAS Fellow

Dr. G. Andrés Cisneros, professor and department head of physics at The University of Texas at Dallas, has been elected to the 2025 class of American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) fellows.

Cisneros, who also is a professor of chemistry and biochemistry in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (NSM), is one of 449 scientists, engineers and innovators to be recognized across 24 disciplinary sections. The new fellows will be honored at a May 29 event in Washington, D.C.

The AAAS elected Cisneros in the chemistry section for "unique contributions to biophysics, computational enzymology and computational chemistry by developing accurate simulation methods and their application to the investigation of DNA transaction proteins."

Cisneros, who joined UT Dallas in 2022, conducts interdisciplinary research that spans biology, physics, biochemistry and computational methods. He has developed classical and quantum approaches to simulate biological systems and chemical processes, including the structure, mechanisms and dynamics of DNA transaction enzymes. Understanding the atomic-level biochemical processes carried out by these proteins, which play key roles in DNA repair and replication, provides fundamental insights that Cisneros and his colleagues are using in the discovery and characterization of cancer and autoimmune disease biomarkers.

"Dr. Cisneros' combined expertise in multiple fields informs research that is essential to addressing modern issues in science and medicine," said Dr. David Hyndman, dean of NSM, Francis S. and Maurine G. Johnson Distinguished University Chair, and a AAAS fellow. "This recognition by the AAAS is well deserved."

A fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cisneros has received research funding from agencies including the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. He earned a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the National Autonomous University of Mexico and a PhD in physical chemistry from Duke University. He was also a postdoctoral fellow at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the NIH.

"I am extremely honored to receive this distinction from AAAS," Cisneros said. "It is humbling to have the work of not only myself, but also past and current members of our research group recognized in this manner."

Media Contact:

Amanda Siegfried, UT Dallas, 972-883-4335, [email protected], or the Office of Media Relations, UT Dallas, (972) 883-2155, [email protected].