Marian Johnson-Thompson, Ph.D., Director of Education and Biomedical Research Development at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, has been elected a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology, a leadership group devoted to microbiologists and the science of microbiology.

Johnson-Thompson joins about 1,300 Academy Fellows from 27 countries that have demonstrated scientific excellence, originality and leadership, high ethical standards, and scholarly and creative achievement in all areas of microbiology including basic and applied research, teaching, public health, industry and government service.

In her six years at NIEHS Johnson-Thompson has been the Institute's lead person for establishing programs that address the environmental health research and training needs of underserved populations; and as a member of the NIEHS leadership team, she advises senior staff officials on diversity and educational outreach activities. She spearheaded the creation of the Bridging Education, Science and Technology Program with the Durham, NC public school system in 1996; she developed a K-12 environmental health sciences education program focusing on curriculum development and teacher enhancement administered by the NIEHS Division of Extramural Research; she serves as a liaison to North Carolina's historically Black Colleges and Universities and to UNC-Pembroke, which serves a large Native American (Lumbee) population; she is the principal contact for recruitment and retention of underrepresented minority scientists.

Before joining NIEHS in 1992, Johnson-Thompson spent 21 years in the department of biological and environmental sciences at the University of the District of Columbia, including the last nine years as a full professor and coordinator of the department's microbiology option.

She has been a member of the American Society for Microbiology, the Academy's parent oranization, for 25 years, serving on numerous committees.

Johnson-Thompson received both her B.S. and M.S. degrees in microbiology from Howard University and earned a Ph.D. in molecular virology from Georgetown University Medical School.