Richard S. Pollenz is a tenured professor of Cell Biology, Microbiology and Molecular Biology at the University of South Florida, associate dean for Undergraduate Studies and director of the Office for Undergraduate Research. He received a Ph.D. in Cellular, Molecular and Structural Biology from Northwestern University. His laboratory focuses on aspects of molecular toxicology as they relate to gene regulation and protein degradation that is mediated by environmental contaminants, and has published over 50 peer-reviewed manuscripts in high impact journals such as Molecular Pharmacology, Toxicological Sciences and the Journal of Biological Chemistry. His research has been funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences since 1997. He developed innovative strategies to enhance undergraduate research, including an initiative that allowed 600 students to receive research experience through their coursework in 2012, and has received awards for innovations in teaching for the use of music and karaoke to understand key science concepts. As part of the Section on Biological Sciences, Dr. Richard S. Pollenz was elected as an AAAS Fellow for distinguished contributions to the field of molecular toxicology, particularly for advances in understanding aryl hydrocarbon receptor signal transduction at the protein level.