Elected Fellow, of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2001.

Ellison Senior Scholar Award: 2001-2005. Award for research on aging and telomeres. Four years of support for the laboratory.

Herbert A. Sober Award: Associated Societies for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2002. This award is given once every two years nationally for someone who has contributed to molecular biology and biochemistry in the area of technique development.

Kenan Distinguished Professor, University of North Carolina, 2002 -

Elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 2005

Grand Gold Medal of Comenius University, Slovak Republic, 2006. This award is the highest honor of Comenius University and was given for contributions to molecular biology.

Glenn Award. 2007. This award was given for contributions in aging research. Partial laboratory support for 2 years.