By Kay Labella
For Pride Month, the PSPDG blog is collaborating with students from LTBGS and Lambda Grads for a series of posts highlighting the LGBTQ+ community and related matters at Penn and beyond.
Dr. Ben A. Barres (MD/PhD) was born September 13, 1954, in West Orange, New Jersey. After graduating from Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a B.S. in Biology, he went on to obtain his medical degree from Dartmouth Medical School in 1979. While in his neurology residency at Weill Cornell Medicine, Barres found himself intrigued by neurodegeneration and glial cell function; he subsequently resigned his residency to pursue a PhD in neurobiology at Harvard Medical School so that he might pursue research into these subjects. In his time as a postdoc and later heading his own lab at Stanford University, Barres remained at the forefront of scientific discovery. His lab published numerous critical studies expanding upon our understanding of the role of astrocytes, microglia, and the blood-brain barrier, as well as how synapses form within the brain, among other topics. As a PI, he was well-loved and dedicated to the success of his trainees.
Amidst many other well-deserved awards, in 2013, Barres was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, becoming the first openly transgender member. His experience pre- and post-transition gave him particular insight into the sexism rife within science as a discipline, and he was a vocal advocate for women in STEM. Though Dr. Barres passed away in 2017, his legacy as a scientist, mentor, and pioneer remains a testament to his excellence.
If you would like to read more about Dr. Barres, his autobiography, The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist, is available.