Vanessa Ruta, MBL Neurobiology Course Alumna, Receives MacArthur Fellowship

Vanessa Ruta of Rockefeller University, who kick-started her neuroscience career as a student in the MBL Neurobiology course in 2000, is one of 26 MacArthur Fellows recently announced by The MacArthur Foundation. The MacArthur Fellowship is a $625,000 award given to talented individuals with no strings attached. Ruta investigates how stimuli shape the function of neural circuits and are translated into behaviors.

Vanessa Ruta of Rockefeller University. Credit: John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

In 1997, Ruta participated in a NSF Research Experiences for Undergraduates program at the MBL, the Marine Models in Biological Research Program. She returned to the Neurobiology course in 2016  as a faculty member and in 2017 as a lecturer, and is a Grass Foundation trustee.