CLEVELAND—The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the world’s largest general scientific society and publisher of the journal Science , has elected Case Western Reserve University neuroscientist and professor Paul Tesar as a 2025 AAAS Fellow.
Tesar is the Pavey Family Eminent Professor in the Department of Genetics and Genome Sciences and founding director of the Institute for Glial Sciences at the Case Western Reserve School of Medicine.
AAAS selected Tesar for “distinguished contributions to the field of translational neuroscience, particularly for work elucidating genetic and environmental mechanisms of oligodendrocyte dysfunction and developing regenerative therapies for multiple sclerosis and pediatric leukodystrophies.”
A tradition dating to 1874, election as an AAAS Fellow is a lifetime honor recognizing distinguished scientific achievements and a commitment to the highest standards of professional ethics and scientific integrity. Those elevated to the rank have included Nobel laureates and other notable scientific figures, underscoring the long-standing distinction of the honor.
“I am deeply honored to be elected an AAAS Fellow,” Tesar said. “This recognition reflects the extraordinary trainees, collaborators and mentors who have contributed to our efforts to understand glial biology and translate those discoveries into new therapies for neurological disease.”
Tesar began his scientific training at Case Western Reserve and completed doctoral work at the University of Oxford and the National Institutes of Health before launching his laboratory back home in Cleveland at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine in 2010.
Tesar’s research has helped redefine how scientists understand glial cells—non-neuronal cells that make up half of the nervous system—and their central role in neurological disease. His work has helped elucidate why oligodendrocytes, the cells that make the protective myelin coating around neurons, are lost or become dysfunctional in disease, opening the door to a new class of glia-targeted therapies designed to promote myelin repair.
His discoveries have helped advance new treatment strategies for both common and rare neurological diseases, including remyelination therapies for multiple sclerosis entering clinical testing through Convelo Therapeutics, which he co-founded, and an antisense therapy for the rare pediatric disease Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease that is now in clinical testing at Ionis Pharmaceuticals.
Tesar’s work helped lay the foundation for the Institute for Glial Sciences, which he founded in 2024 to illuminate the role of glia in disease and unlock a new era of glial medicines.
“Paul exemplifies the spirit of curiosity, collaboration and innovation that we value at the School of Medicine,” said School of Medicine Dean Stanton Gerson. “His example propels our faculty and students to advance the boundaries of science, focusing on unmet medical needs to accelerate scientific knowledge to benefit patients.”
This year’s AAAS Fellows will be featured in Science magazine and formally recognized May 29 at the association’s annual meeting in Washington, D.C.
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