SFI External Professor Santiago Elena has been elected as a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology. The American Academy of Microbiology is the honorific leadership group within the American Society for Microbiology, and over the past 50 years, it has named more than 2,600 fellows. This year, Elena joins 62 other fellows in the class of 2026, each selected for their contributions in the field of microbiology.
Elena is a researcher at the Institute for Integrative Systems Biology (I2SysBio) in Valencia, Spain, where he leads the Evolutionary Systems Virology group. His work explores how RNA viruses adapt to their hosts and how this adaptation allows the viruses to manipulate the hosts’ cellular resources for their own benefit. He draws on fields from experimental evolution and advanced molecular biology to molecular epidemiology and mathematical modeling. Since joining SFI’s External Faculty in 2008, Elena has organized several working groups to explore various aspects of virus evolution.
“It is always an honor to receive recognition from colleagues who appreciate and value your work,” he said in an announcement from I2SysBio. “It is particularly an honor when it comes from a society with the impact and prestige of the American Academy of Microbiology, whose members include multiple Nobel Prize winners.”
Elena joins SFI Science Board Fellow Nina Fedoroff as a fellow of the American Academy of Microbiology.
See the list of new fellows of the American Academy of Microbiology, class of 2026.