Ben Barres

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Ben A. Barres
Born 1955 (age 68–69)
West Orange, New Jersey, US
Other names Barbara Barres
Residence California
Citizenship US
Nationality US
Fields Neurobiology
Institutions Stanford University
Alma mater M.I.T. (BS)
Dartmouth College (MD)
Harvard Medical School (PhD)
Doctoral advisor David Corey
Known for Neuroscience
Gender discrimination
Website
Stanford homepage

Ben A. Barres (born Barbara Barres, in 1955) is an American neurobiologist at Stanford University.[1] His research focuses on the interaction between neurons and glial cells in the nervous system. Since 2008, he has been Chair of the Neurobiology department at Stanford University School of Medicine. He changed his sex to male in 1997, and became the first openly transgender scientist in the US National Academy of Sciences in 2013.[2]

Early life and education

Barres was born in West Orange, New Jersey to a Christian family. His father was a salesman. Attending a West Orange school, he excelled in mathematics and science and was impressed by his eighth-grade teacher Jeffrey Davis.[3][4] He obtained a BS degree in biology from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a medical degree (MD) from Dartmouth Medical School, neurology residency training at Weill Cornell, and a doctorate (PhD) in neurobiology from Harvard University.[5] He did his postdoctoral training at University College London under Martin Raff. In 1993 he joined the faculty of neurobiology at the Stanford School of Medicine. In 1997,[6] he underwent a transgender female-to-male operation and has published on sexism in the sciences. In 2008 he was appointed to the Chair of Neurobiology.[1]

Research

He studies the development and function of glial cells in the mammalian central nervous system. He has pioneered novel methods to culture and purify glial cells from rodents' optic nerves (oligodendrocytes and astrocytes) and the neurons they interact with (retinal ganglion cells). His research targets on the role of glia in the failure of the central nervous system (CNS) to regenerate.[7]

Experience of sexism

Barres has described experiences of gender discrimination in MIT. Once, after solving a difficult math problem that stumped many male students, he was charged with an accusation that it was solved for him by a boyfriend. He was the top student in the class, but found it hard to get a willing supervisor for research. He lost a scholarship to a man who had only one publication, while he already had six.[8] While earning a PhD at Harvard, he was told that he was to win a scientific competition. Between him and one man, the Dean confided to him saying, “I have read both applications, and it’s going to be you; your application is so much better.” But the award was given to the man, who dropped out of science a year later.[9]

After surgery, he noticed that people who are not aware of his transgender status treated him with respect much more than when he presented as a woman.[10] After delivering his first seminar as a man, one scientist was overheard to comment, “Ben Barres gave a great seminar today, but his work is much better than his sister’s [believing Barbara to be his sister] work.”[11] In 2012, he recollected the events of his sex change as:[12]

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When I decided to change sex 15 years ago I didn't have role models to point to. I thought that I had to decide between identify and career. I changed sex thinking my career might be over. The alternative choice I seriously contemplated at the time was suicide, as I could not go on as Barbara.

Barres was critical of Lawrence Summers and others who have claimed that one reason there are fewer women than men in science and engineering professorships might be that fewer women than men had the very high levels of "intrinsic aptitude" that such jobs required.[10] He speaks and writes openly about being a trans man and his experiences transitioning gender identity in 1997,[13] and his experiences of being treated differently as a female scientist versus a male scientist.[14]

More recently, Barres directed a series of "open questions" to Steven Pinker and Harvey Mansfield in a formal address at Harvard, challenging the data supporting their arguments.[15]

Awards and honors

Barres' research awards include a Life Sciences Research Fellowship, the Klingenstein Fellowship Award, a McKnight Investigator Award,[16] and a Searle Scholar Award. He has also won teaching awards: the Kaiser Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the Kaiser Award for Innovative and Outstanding Contributions to Medical Education. In 2008 he received the Mika Salpeter Lifetime Achievement Award.[17] He is inducted member of the Reeve Foundation International Research Consortium on Spinal Cord Injury.[18] He is the co-founder and Director of Annexon, Inc., and is Member of Scientific Advisory Board of Rinat Neuroscience Corporation.[19] He is member and elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2011.[20] In 2013 he was elected to the US National Academy of Sciences,[21] becoming the first transgender member.[2]

Bibliography

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References

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  3. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ NIH, (Oct. 2008). Ben A. Barres, M.D., Ph.D.
  6. ↑ http://ai.eecs.umich.edu/people/conway/TS/News/News.html
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubner (2009) SuperFreakonomics: Global Cooling, Patriotic Prostitutes, and Why Suicide Bombers Should Buy Life Insurance p.47
  14. ↑ Sharon Begley, (July 13, 2006). He, Once a She, Offers Own View On Science Spat. Wall Street Journal
  15. ↑ Ben Barres, (March 17, 2008). "Some Reflections on the Dearth of Women in Science", Harvard University.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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