MBL Course Faculty Member, Paulina Lishko, Receives MacArthur Fellowship

Polina V. Lishko of University of California, Berkeley, a recent faculty member in the MBL Frontiers in Reproduction (FIR) course, has received a 2020 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, commonly known as a "Genius Award."

Lishko studies "the cellular processes that guide mammalian fertilization and [are] opening new avenues for contraception and treatment of infertility," the Foundation stated. Lishko is especially interested in the regulation of sperm cell motility through the female reproductive tract and the development of the acrosome (the organelle that enables the sperm to penetrate the protective coating of the egg, leading to cellular fusion). Below is a brief video about Lishko's research.

The MacArthur Fellowship is "a $625,000, no-strings-attached grant for individuals who have shown exceptional creativity in their work and the promise to do more," the announcement stated.

Lishko served on the faculty of the MBL's Frontiers in Reproduction course in 2018, was a FIR course lecturer in 2017 and 2016, is an alumna of the Fundamental Issues in Vision Research course (2002).