Four UChicago scholars named to first group of MBL fellows

Nine faculty members from institutions around the country, including four from the University of Chicago, have been named to the inaugural group of MBL Fellows at the Marine Biological Laboratory.

The fellows chosen from UChicago are Jack Gilbert, professor in Ecology & Evolution and Surgery; Melina Hale, professor in Organismal Biology and Anatomy; Patrick La Rivière, associate professor in Radiology; and Clifton Ragsdale, associate professor in Neurobiology.

MBL Fellows come to Woods Hole, Mass. to pursue collaborative research on key topics related to the MBL’s strategic plan. Each fellow holds a primary appointment at another U.S. or global institution while also carrying out significant, ongoing research and educational commitments throughout the year at the MBL.

In announcing the appointments, MBL President and Director Huntington Willard added, “Since its founding, a singular feature of the MBL has been its convening power, attracting the world’s most accomplished scientists to Woods Hole to carry out some of their most creative and far-reaching work. Establishing an active and committed fellows program will be a key mechanism for realizing the MBL’s power to bring together scientists to tackle big, complex problems, especially in the context of marine biodiversity, the oceans and our changing environment.”

Drawing from the rich scientific community of thousands of researchers who assemble each year at MBL, fellows will engage colleagues in transformative research or training, attract new investigators and students, and help to advance both projects and careers.

As part of their investigations, fellows may initiate new MBL research collaborations, educational programs, or workshops and conferences to drive MBL research and educational goals forward into a new era of biological discovery.

The inaugural MBL Fellows also include Maureen Conte of Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, Jane Maienschein of Arizona State University, Loretta Roberson of University of Puerto Rico, Joshua Rosenthal of University of Puerto Rico, and Alejandro Sánchez Alvarado of Stowers Institute and Howard Hughes Medical Institute.