Scolnick Award:
The Scolnick Prize is awarded annually by the McGovern Institute to recognize outstanding advances in the field of neuroscience. The prize is named in honor of Edward M. Scolnick, who stepped down as president of Merck Research Laboratories in December 2002 after holding Merck’s top research post for 17 years. Scolnick is now at the Broad Institute, where he established the Stanley Center for Psychiatric Research. He also served as a member of the McGovern Institute’s scientific advisory board. The prize, which is endowed through a gift from Merck to the McGovern Institute, consists of a $200,000 award, plus an inscribed gift.

Date: Friday, May 9
Time: 4:00pm
Location: 46-3002, Singleton Auditorium (Third floor of MIT Building 46)
This is an in-person event, followed by a reception. 

2025 Speaker: Leslie B. Vosshall, PhD

Talk Title: Mosquitoes: neurobiology of the world’s most dangerous animal

Abstract: One of the most fascinating observations in sensory neuroscience is that the brain can adapt to the loss of one sense by increasing the sensitivity of another sense. Well-described examples in humans include increases in auditory and tactile perception in blind individuals and increases in visual and tactile perception in deaf individuals. The underlying mechanisms, where they have been studied, typically involve functional reorganization of primary sensory cortex with new innervation of the compensatory sense into brain areas formerly occupied by the lost sense. We have discovered an unexpected mechanism of long-range sensory compensation in the mosquito. Loss of an olfactory pathway causes a dramatic increase in a thermosensory pathway. What makes this fascinating is that the compensation occurs across sensory organs located on completely different body parts. These results show that mosquitoes have robust mechanisms to maintain maximum sensitivity to humans if they lose a key sensory modality.

Bio: Leslie B Vosshall PhD is the Robin Chemers Neustein Professor and head of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior at The Rockefeller University, as well as Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Vosshall is a molecular neurobiologist who studies how behaviors emerge from the integration of sensory input with internal physiological states, with a specific focus on host-seeking and blood-feeding by mosquitoes that spread dangerous viruses. Vosshall is a vocal proponent of pre-prints and open science, as well as a strong supporter of inclusion in STEM. Her ongoing initiatives at HHMI aim to enhance the culture and climate in HHMI laboratories by fostering inclusive mentoring.