Rumbaugh Named 2023 Fellow by American Association for the Advancement of Science

• By Mark Hendricks
• May 9, 2024
• Research

In recognition of her distinguished contributions to the field of infectious diseases, particularly for the development of chronic wound infection models, Kendra Rumbaugh, Ph.D., was recently named to the 2023 Fellowship class by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). 

Rumbaugh, a professor in the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) School of Medicine’s Department of Surgery, will be recognized as part of the 502-member 2023 Fellowship class Sept. 21 at the annual AAAS Fellows Forum in Washington, D.C.

“AAAS is the most prominent and largest scientific society in the world, and it is an extremely strong proponent of scientists,” Rumbaugh said. “I feel incredibly honored to be recognized as a Fellow, but I’m keenly aware that my success is built on the efforts of all the excellent students, post-docs and technicians that have come through my lab. It is really all of their hard work that has driven the advancements we have made. Although I am the one being recognized, it is very much a team effort, and I thank all of the current and previous members of my lab.”

AAAS Fellowship is a lifetime honor based upon the nominee’s scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. AAAS Fellows are nominated by their peers, and those considered by the AAAS Council to be scientifically distinguished are then elected to receive the honor. 

Rumbaugh, whose research is centered on understanding and better treating wound infections, has published more than 160 peer-reviewed research articles which have received more than 11,200 citations. She holds an h-index of 51, a metric used to calculate an author’s productivity and citation impact. Her lab recently completed a study investigating the use of enzymes to break down the biofilm matrix. That study revealed the composition of the matrix surrounding some of the biofilm’s bacterial species and demonstrated how the enzymes target and degrade the matrix.

Rumbaugh is currently studying potential biofilm dispersal agents which can induce microbes to leave the safety of the protective biofilm and become more susceptible to antibiotics, a project funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health.

“In addition to my past and current lab members and collaborators, I am very thankful to the mentors and leaders that have worked with me at TTUHSC over the 25 years I’ve been here,” Rumbaugh said. “I’ve been incredibly lucky to have had two wonderfully supportive department chairs in Drs. Dissanaike and Griswold, as well as excellent deans, presidents and truly collegial and supportive colleagues and collaborators.”