| 1 | Name: | Dr. Leslie B. Vosshall | |
| Institution: | Rockefeller University; Howard Hughes Medical Institute | ||
| Year Elected: | 2022 | ||
| Class: | 2. Biological Sciences | ||
| Subdivision: | 208. Plant Sciences | ||
| Residency: | Resident | ||
| Living? : | Living | ||
| Birth Date: | 1965 | ||
Leslie B. Vosshall is the Robin Chemers Neustein Professor and head of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior at The Rockefeller University. In 2022, she became the Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), where she had been an Investigator since 2008. She earned her Ph.D. at The Rockefeller University in 1993. She was previously an Annenberg Assistant Professor, Head of the laboratory and Chemers Family Associate Professor at the Rockefeller University, and a faculty member at the Marine Biological Laboratory. Vosshall is known for her strong impact on public health and extraordinary contributions to the scientific community. Female mosquitoes bite humans to obtain blood to nurture eggs, thereby transmitting viral pathogens including dengue and Zika to hundreds of millions of people each year. Over the past decade, Vosshall single-handedly built the yellow fever mosquito Aedes Aegypti into a genetic model organism for neurobiology and provided key insights into the sensory mechanisms these deadly insects use to hunt humans. She elucidated the mechanism of action of insect repellents and developed small molecules that disrupt mosquito biting behavior and show great promise in reducing disease transmission. Vosshall is a strong proponent of open access publications and pre-prints and fostering diversity in science. She was the 2002 recipient of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the 2008 Lawrence C. Katz Prize from Duke University, the 2010 DART/NYU Biotechnology Award, the 2011 Gill Young Investigator Award, the 2020 National Academy of Sciences Pradel Research Award, and the co-recipient of the 2020 Alden W. Spencer Award with Kristin Scott. Vosshall is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2015 and the National Academy of Medicine in 2021. She was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society in 2022. | |||