Dr. Cori Bargmann stands as a preeminent leader in modern neuroscience, renowned for her transformative contributions to understanding the neural basis of behavior. She currently serves as the Torsten N. Wiesel Professor and Head of the Lulu and Anthony Wang Laboratory of Neural Circuits and Behavior at The Rockefeller University, where she also holds the position of Vice President for Academic Affairs. Following her doctoral studies in cancer biology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under Robert Weinberg, she completed her postdoctoral research at MIT in the laboratory of H. Robert Horvitz from 1987 to 1991, focusing on genetics. Her distinguished career includes professorship at the University of California, San Francisco, a 21-year tenure as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, and leadership as Head of Science at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative from 2016 to 2022.
Bargmann's groundbreaking research employs the nematode worm C. elegans to elucidate the genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying neural circuits and behavior, with particular focus on the olfactory system and the generation of flexible behaviors. Her seminal doctoral work on the neu oncogene directly contributed to the development of Herceptin, a revolutionary antibody therapy targeting HER2-positive breast cancer. Through innovative approaches examining natural genetic variation and behavioral mutants, her laboratory has identified fundamental principles of how genes and environment interact to produce complex behaviors, revealing conserved molecular mechanisms across species. Her discoveries regarding neuromodulators such as serotonin and dopamine have significantly advanced understanding of how motivational and emotional states influence behavior across the animal kingdom.
Dr. Bargmann's influence extends beyond her laboratory through leadership roles that have shaped the direction of neuroscience globally. She co-chaired the pivotal National Institutes of Health committee that established strategic goals for President Obama's BRAIN Initiative, catalyzing unprecedented investment in neurotechnology development. Her exceptional contributions have been recognized with the prestigious 2012 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience and the 2013 Breakthrough Prize in Life Sciences, alongside election to the National Academy of Sciences and the American Philosophical Society. Currently, her laboratory continues to pioneer research in behavioral neuroscience, exploring neuromodulatory systems, natural adaptations across nematode species, and the cellular mechanisms that enable dynamic behavioral responses to environmental challenges.
