Joan V. Ruderman (born 1947/48) is an American molecular and cell biologist. She is a Professor Emeritus at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

and Visiting Senior Biologist at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. She has researched

cell division Cell division is the process by which a parent cell (biology), cell divides into two daughter cells. Cell division usually occurs as part of a larger cell cycle in which the cell grows and replicates its chromosome(s) before dividing. In eukar ...

and

embryo development An embryo ( ) is the initial stage of development for a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male ...

, and more recently the effects of, and the public understanding of, environmental estrogens and other

endocrine disruptor Endocrine disruptors, sometimes also referred to as hormonally active agents, endocrine disrupting chemicals, or endocrine disrupting compounds are chemicals that can interfere with endocrine (or hormonal) systems. These disruptions can cause ...

s. She was elected as a member of the

United States National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, 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 Nati ...

in 1998.

Education and career

She received her BA from

Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...

in 1969 and her Ph.D. from

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

in 1974. She was on the faculty of

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

, and joined the faculty of

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 ...

in 1976. At Harvard, she was the Marion V. Nelson Professor of Cell Biology. She first attended the

Marine Biological Laboratory The Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) is an international center for research and education in biological and environmental science. Founded in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, in 1888, the MBL is a private, nonprofit institution that was independent ...

in 1974, for a summer course on embryology. With Ann Stuart she founded the Periwinkle Club, a summer day camp for young children of MBL scientists. She was on the Board of Trustees of the MBL from 1986 to 2012, and she was on the executive committee and Speaker of the MBL Corporation from 2008 to 2012. She succeeded Gary Borisy as president and Director of the MBL as the first women to hold the post, serving from November 2012 until November 2014, when she was succeeded by

Arthur Sussman Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

as interim president and then Huntington Willard. While she was president, the MBL joined the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

in July 2013 and became more financially stable. She was also a member of the Radcliffe Institute of Advanced Study from 2010 to 2011. She joined Princeton Environmental Institute in February 2015. She was elected to the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

in 1991.

Works

Personal life

She is married to Gerald Ruderman, an engineer. Their daughter Zoe (born 1983/4) is a journalist in New York City.

References

External links

*
Video interview - Joan Ruderman on Cyclins Part I, June 5, 2015
History of the Marine Biological Laboratory American molecular biologists Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Harvard University faculty Princeton University faculty American embryologists American endocrinologists American women endocrinologists Barnard College alumni Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Living people Year of birth uncertain Year of birth missing (living people) {{biologist-stub