Leslie B. Vosshall, Robin Chemers Neustein Professor and head of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior at Rockefeller University in New York, has been selected to receive the Pradel Research Award from the National Academy of Sciences. This honor is presented annually to recognize mid-career neuroscientists making major contributions to our understanding of the nervous system.
Dr. Vosshal’s research focuses on how a mosquito perceives and processes sensory information. She hopes to discover how to manipulate mosquitos’ odor-sensing mechanisms in order to prevent them from biting and spreading disease to human hosts. Her research concentrates on the mosquitos responsible for spreading dengue, Zika, chikungunya, and yellow fever.
Dr. Vosshall is a graduate of Columbia University, where she majored in biochemistry. She earned a Ph.D. at Rockefeller University.