Pitt administrator named editor-in-chief of prestigious Science magazine
Jeremy Berg, an associate senior vice chancellor and chemist at the University of Pittsburgh, has been named editor-in-chief of the prestigious Science magazine and its companion journals.
The board of directors of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, which publishes Science, announced the appointment Wednesday.
“It's thrilling,” Berg told the Tribune-Review. “I can't imagine a time when the scientific opportunities are more abundant than they are right now.”
Pitt Chancellor Patrick Gallagher said the announcement is a great reflection on the university and its rise within the scientific world.
“The editorial position for Science is the most visible editorial position in all of American science,” Gallagher told the Trib. “This is one of the flagship publications in all of science. It is a unique platform to talk about the world of sciences and policies and practices around it. It has worldwide impact, and Jeremy will be fabulous at this.
“We're delighted.”
Before coming to Pitt four years ago, Berg, 58, of Hampton was former director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences at the U.S. National Institutes of Health. As editor, he succeeds Marcia McNutt, who departed to become president of the National Academy of Sciences.
His previous research has focused on the relationships between the structures and functions of biological molecules. He's contributed to understanding how zinc-containing proteins bind to DNA or RNA and regulate gene activity, according to Pitt.
From 2012 until 2014, Berg was president of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
He takes over Science on July 1 and said he will retain his Pitt position as associate senior vice chancellor for science strategy and planning in the health sciences.
Berg said a search committee reached out to him about nine months ago, and he continued through the selection process, which began with more than 150 nominees. He becomes the journal's 20th editor since it was founded in 1880 by journalist John Michels with seed money from Thomas Edison.
Gerald Fink, immediate past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and chair of the search committee that unanimously selected Berg, praised the appointment.
“Our committee felt that Jeremy Berg was a terrific choice among a group of excellent candidates,” said Fink, who is the Margaret and Herman Sokol Professor and American Cancer Society Professor of Genetics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Whitehead Institute. “His broad scientific perspective and passionate advocacy for basic research, combined with his interest in scientific policy, makes him a superb spokesperson for the scientific community.”
Berg said his job duties entail overseeing the staff of Science and its other journals and writing editorials. He estimated Science's weekly readership at 1 million worldwide. It has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed, general science journal in the world.
“It will be a wonderful forum for getting ideas out to a broad community,” he said. “I think there are challenges in front of us in every aspect of mankind, whether it's health, climate change and the food supply.”
Berg's wife, Wendie, is a radiologist specializing in breast imaging at Magee-Womens Hospital of UPMC and a professor of radiology at Pitt's School of Medicine. They have two sons and a daughter.
Ben Schmitt is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-320-7991 or bschmitt@tribweb.com.
