Ben Barres
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Benjamin Barres (formerly Barbara A. Barres, September 13, 1954 – December 27, 2017) was an American
neurobiologist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist specializing in neuroscience that deals with the anatomy and function of neurons, neural circuits, and glia, and their behavioral, biological, and psychological roles in health and disease. ...
at
Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
. His research focused on the interaction between
neuron A neuron (American English), neurone (British English), or nerve cell, is an membrane potential#Cell excitability, excitable cell (biology), cell that fires electric signals called action potentials across a neural network (biology), neural net ...
s and
glial cells Glia, also called glial cells (gliocytes) or neuroglia, are non-neuronal cells in the central nervous system (the brain and the spinal cord) and in the peripheral nervous system that do not produce electrical impulses. The neuroglia make up ...
in the
nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the complex system, highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its behavior, actions and sense, sensory information by transmitting action potential, signals to and from different parts of its body. Th ...
. Beginning in 2008, he was chair of the Neurobiology Department at
Stanford University School of Medicine The Stanford University School of Medicine is the medical school of Stanford University and is located in Stanford, California, United States. It traces its roots to the Medical Department of the University of the Pacific, founded in San Fra ...
. He transitioned to male in 1997, and became the first openly
transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...
scientist in the
National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...
in 2013. Barres is also known for his pioneering activism for equal opportunity in science, often citing his experiences as both a male and female scientist.


Early life and education

Barres was born on September 13, 1954, in
West Orange, New Jersey West Orange is a suburban Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 48,843, an increase of 2,636 (+5.7%) from t ...
, and was
assigned female at birth Sex assignment (also known as gender assignment) is the discernment of an infant's sex, typically made at birth based on an examination of the baby's external genitalia by a healthcare provider such as a midwife, nurse, or physician. In the ...
. As a child, his salesman father and homemaker mother saw him as a
tomboy A tomboy is a girl or young woman who generally expresses masculine traits. Such traits may include wearing androgynous or unfeminine clothing and engaging in activities and behaviors traditionally associated with boys or men. Origins The w ...
. He later recalled: "Internally I felt strongly that I was a boy. This was evident in everything about my behavior." Attending a West Orange school, Barres excelled in mathematics and science. At the age of 17, he learned that he had been born with
Müllerian agenesis Müllerian may refer to: * Müllerian mimicry, a type of mimicry or convergence named after Fritz Müller * Müllerian ducts, which enter the cloaca of an embryo (named after Johannes Peter Müller) * Mullerian anomalies are structural anomalies c ...
, for which he received surgical correction. He obtained a
Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
in Biology from
Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...
(1976), a medical degree (MD) from
Dartmouth Medical School The Geisel School of Medicine is the medical school of Dartmouth College located in Hanover, New Hampshire. The fourth oldest medical school in the United States, it was founded in 1797 by New England physician Nathan Smith. It is one of the sev ...
(1979), and a residency in neurology at
Weill Cornell Medicine Weill Cornell Medicine (; officially Joan and Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University), originally Cornell University Medical College, is the medical school of Cornell University, located on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in Ne ...
. During his residency, Barres noted the lack of knowledge about the causes or cures of
neurodegeneration A neurodegenerative disease is caused by the progressive loss of neurons, in the process known as neurodegeneration. Neuronal damage may also ultimately result in their cell death, death. Neurodegenerative diseases include amyotrophic lateral sc ...
. In studying pathology reports, he noticed a correlation between neural degeneration and irregular patterns of
glia Glia, also called glial cells (gliocytes) or neuroglia, are non-neuronal cells in the central nervous system (the brain and the spinal cord) and in the peripheral nervous system that do not produce electrical impulses. The neuroglia make up ...
l cells in the brain and, intrigued, resigned his residency to pursue research in neuroscience at
Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...
. He completed a
PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...
in neurobiology there in 1990, then did
postdoctoral A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...
training at
University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...
under
Martin Raff Martin Charles Raff (born 15 January 1938) is a Canadian/British biologist and researcher who is an Emeritus Professor at the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Cell Biology (LMCB) at University College London (UCL). His research has been in immunolo ...
.NIH, (Oct. 2008)
Ben A. Barres, M.D., Ph.D.
In 1993, Barres joined the faculty of Neurobiology at the Stanford School of Medicine. After transitioning to male in 1997, Barres published on sexism in the sciences. In 2008, he was appointed to the Chair of Neurobiology at Stanford.


Research

Barres authored or co-authored papers in journals such as ''Nature'' ''Neuroscience'', ''
Neuron A neuron (American English), neurone (British English), or nerve cell, is an membrane potential#Cell excitability, excitable cell (biology), cell that fires electric signals called action potentials across a neural network (biology), neural net ...
,'' ''Science'', and ''
Cell Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life * Cellphone, a phone connected to a cellular network * Clandestine cell, a penetration-resistant form of a secret or outlawed organization * Electrochemical cell, a de ...
''. His research involved study of mammalian glial cells of the
central nervous system The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain, spinal cord and retina. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity o ...
(CNS), including the exploration of their function and development. Much of his early work was published under his deadname. His first major discovery was how developing neurons provide signals to the
myelin Myelin Sheath ( ) is a lipid-rich material that in most vertebrates surrounds the axons of neurons to insulate them and increase the rate at which electrical impulses (called action potentials) pass along the axon. The myelinated axon can be lik ...
ating glial cells called the
oligodendrocytes Oligodendrocytes (), also known as oligodendroglia, are a type of neuroglia whose main function is to provide the myelin sheath to neuronal axons in the central nervous system (CNS). Myelination gives metabolic support to, and insulates the axon ...
that provide insulation on the axons. Some of his earliest works focussed on vertebrate nervous system development, including how and why many neurons fail to survive shortly after forming connections with their targets. These studies investigated how this programmed cell death,
apoptosis Apoptosis (from ) is a form of programmed cell death that occurs in multicellular organisms and in some eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms such as yeast. Biochemistry, Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes (Morphology (biol ...
, occurred in such a tremendous scale. Additionally, he studied processes such as the prerequisites for and consequences of axon myelination, and the interactions of various signaling molecules such as thyroid-hormone and
retinoic acid Retinoic acid (simplified nomenclature for all-''trans''-retinoic acid) is a metabolite of vitamin A1 (all-''trans''-retinol) that is required for embryonic development, male fertility, regulation of bone growth and immune function. All-''trans ...
within the formation of glial cells including oligodendrocytes. Early in his time at Stanford, Barres discovered the importance of glial cells in the formation, development, maturation, and regeneration of neurons. His lab also discovered and developed methods for the purification and culturing of retinal ganglion cells and the glial cells with which they interact, including the oligodendrocytes and astrocytes of the optic nerve. Near the turn of the 21st century he continued his study of glial cells and the mechanisms behind their ability to generate new neurons. He studied control of synapses by glia, and the differentiation of
astrocyte Astrocytes (from Ancient Greek , , "star" and , , "cavity", "cell"), also known collectively as astroglia, are characteristic star-shaped glial cells in the brain and spinal cord. They perform many functions, including biochemical control of en ...
s by
endothelial cells The endothelium (: endothelia) is a single layer of squamous endothelial cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels and lymphatic vessels. The endothelium forms an interface between circulating blood or lymph in the lumen and the res ...
. He investigated the role of the protein Id2 in the control of oligodendrocyte development and established that removing this protein led to premature oligodendrocyte maturation. In the 2010s Barres's research focused on using techniques such as immunopanning,
immunohistochemistry Immunohistochemistry is a form of immunostaining. It involves the process of selectively identifying antigens in cells and tissue, by exploiting the principle of Antibody, antibodies binding specifically to antigens in biological tissues. Alber ...
, tissue culturing, and
patch clamping The patch clamp technique is a laboratory technique in electrophysiology used to study ionic currents in individual isolated living cells, tissue sections, or patches of cell membrane. The technique is especially useful in the study of excitab ...
to: 1) understand the cell-to-cell interactions in the developmental regulation of nodes of Ranvier and myelin sheaths; 2) determine to what extent glial cells play a role in synapse formation and function of synapses; 3) identify the signals that promote retinal ganglia growth and survival, and how such knowledge of these signals could be regenerated post-trauma; 4) identify the functions and developmental mechanisms of gray matter astrocytes. In these objectives, his lab discovered a number of novel glial signals for the induction of myelination, axonal sodium channel clustering, and synapse formation processes. Additionally, his lab characterized these processes and the exact identity of these novel signals.


Experience of sexism

Barres described experiences of
gender discrimination Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is in ...
at an early age. While he was presenting as female prior to transitioning, he was excluded at schools from science and mathematics courses he was interested in. It was a summer science course at Columbia University in New York City that enabled him to pursue further studies in science. A more serious event happened to his academics in MIT. After solving a difficult math problem that stumped many male students, his professor charged that it was solved for him by a boyfriend. He was the top student in the class, but found it hard to get a willing supervisor for research. He lost a scholarship to a man who had only one publication, while he already had six. While earning a PhD at Harvard, he was told that he was to win a scientific competition, which was evidently between him and one man; the Dean confided to him, “I have read both applications, and it’s going to be you; your application is so much better.” But the award was given to the male-presenting man, who dropped out of science a year later. After transitioning, he noticed that people who were not aware of him being transgender treated him with respect much more than when he presented as a woman. After delivering his first seminar as a man, one scientist was overheard to comment, “Ben Barres gave a great seminar today, but his work is much better than his sister’s elieving work published under his deadname to be his sister'swork.” In 2012, he recollected the events of his sex change: Barres was critical of economist
Lawrence Summers Lawrence Henry Summers (born November 30, 1954) is an American economist who served as United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1999 to 2001 and as the director of the National Economic Council from 2009 to 2010. He also served as presiden ...
and others who have claimed that one reason there are fewer women than men in science and engineering professorships might be that fewer women than men had the very high levels of "intrinsic aptitude" that such jobs required. He spoke and wrote openly about being a
trans man A trans man or transgender man is a man who was assigned female at birth. Trans men have a male gender identity, and many trans men undergo medical and social transition to alter their appearance in a way that aligns with their gender identi ...
and his experiences transitioning
gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent and consistent with the in ...
in 1997, and his experiences of being treated differently as a female scientist versus a male scientist.


Death

Barres died on December 27, 2017, some 20 months after being diagnosed with
pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...
, at his home in Palo Alto, California. He was survived by two sisters and a brother. In a recollection of his life, he said:
I lived life on my terms: I wanted to switch genders, and I did. I wanted to be a scientist, and I was. I wanted to study glia, and I did that too. I stood up for what I believed in and I like to think I made an impact, or at least opened the door for the impact to occur. I have zero regrets and I’m ready to die. I’ve truly had a great life.


Awards and honors

Barres's research awards include a Life Sciences Research Fellowship, the Klingenstein Fellowship Award, a McKnight Investigator Award, and a
Searle Scholar Award The Searle Scholars Program is a career development award made annually to support 15 young faculty in biomedical research and chemistry at US universities and research centers. The goal of the award is to support to exceptional young scientists wh ...
. He has also won teaching awards: the Kaiser Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the Kaiser Award for Innovative and Outstanding Contributions to Medical Education. In 2008 he received the Mika Salpeter Lifetime Achievement Award. He is an inducted member of the Reeve Foundation International Research Consortium on Spinal Cord Injury. He is a co-founder of Annexon Biosciences, Inc., a company making drugs to block neurodegeneration in Alzheimer's and other neurological diseases. He became a member and elected Fellow of the
American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...
in 2011. In 2013 he was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, becoming the first openly transgender member. Along with biochemist
Tom Jessell Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name. Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tom'' (1973 film), or ''The Bad Bunch'', a blaxploitation film * ''Tom'' (2002 film) ...
, he was awarded the Ralph W. Gerard Prize in Neuroscience at the
Society for Neuroscience The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) is a professional society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., for basic scientists and physicians around the world whose research is focused on the study of the brain and nervous system. It is especially well k ...
(SfN) 2016 conference in San Diego.


Key publications


Research articles

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Books

* *


Legacy

In 2022, director–producer Pamela B. Green launched a
Kickstarter Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...
campaign for ''Ask The Question'', a feature biopic about Ben Barres.


See also

* Matilda effect


References


External links

* * * * (2018
Ben A. Barres
In Albright, Tom; R. Squire, Larry (eds.).
The History of Neuroscience in Autobiography
'. Vol. 10. {{DEFAULTSORT:Barres, Ben 1954 births 2017 deaths American transgender writers American neuroscientists Massachusetts Institute of Technology School of Science alumni Geisel School of Medicine alumni Harvard Medical School alumni Transgender male writers LGBTQ people from New Jersey American LGBTQ scientists LGBTQ physicians Stanford University School of Medicine faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences American male feminists American feminists American LGBTQ rights activists Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Writers from West Orange, New Jersey Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science Activists from California Deaths from pancreatic cancer in California Dartmouth College alumni Transgender academics Transgender scientists 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people Members of the National Academy of Medicine American transgender men