Success Stories: Pushing Boundaries

Michelle D. Jones-London serves as chief of the Office of Programs to Enhance Neuroscience Workforce Diversity (OPEN-WD). In this position, Jones-London plays a critical role in guiding the Institute’s diversity efforts and chairs the NINDS Diversity Working Group. Jones-London is also a program director at NINDS. She earned her PhD in neuroscience from the department of neuroscience and anatomy at Pennsylvania State University College of Medicine. Her research interests have focused on understanding monoaminergic neurotransmitter regulation and mechanisms of behavioral psychopharmacology in animal models of disorders such as ADHD, Tourette Syndrome, and depression. Her trans-NIH efforts include oversight for the NIH Blueprint ENDURE and DSPAN (F99/K00) programs and the BRAIN Initiative Diversity K99/R00.

Frances E. Jensen is an associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School and director of epilepsy research at Boston Children's Hospital. She serves on many advisory boards for private and public research foundations, is a past chair of SfN’s Program Committee, and is a past chair of the Council of Medical Education of the American Epilepsy Society where she made important contributions to professional training. Among other honors, Jensen has received the First Award from NIH and was the 2003 Lennox Lecturer at the American Epilepsy Society Meeting.

Katja Brose, PhD, is the inaugural science program officer at the Chan-Zuckerberg Science Initiative, where she contributes to the Initiative’s ambitious mission of accelerating basic science research to cure, prevent, or manage all diseases by the end of the 21st century. Previously, Brose served as the executive editor of the neuroscience portfolio at Cell Press and editor of Neuron where she represented the journal within the scientific community and was responsible for all aspects of the journal’s management, operations, and strategic vision. Brose earned her PhD in biochemistry from the University of California, San Francisco, researching on axon guidance mechanisms in the developing spinal cord. She speaks frequently on topics related to scientific communication and the future of neuroscience research and training. Brose is a member of SfN’s Neuroscience Training Committee.

Deanna Benson graduated from the University of California, San Diego, received her PhD in neuroscience from the University of California, Irvine, and was a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Virginia. Currently, she is a professor of neuroscience at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. Research in the Benson lab has focused on cell biological mechanisms that are important for the development and plasticity of neural connectivity, with recent research focusing on the identification of developmental processes that are particularly vulnerable in response to disease-causing gene mutations. Among other awards, she has received the Irma T. Hirschl Career Scientist Award and grants from NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, NIH/National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, and NSF.