The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist

Description

A leading scientist describes his life, his gender transition, his scientific work, and his advocacy for gender equality in science. Ben Barres was known for his groundbreaking scientific work and for his groundbreaking advocacy for gender equality in science. In this book, completed shortly before his death from pancreatic cancer in December 2017, Barres (born in 1954) describes a life full of remarkable accomplishments—from his childhood as a precocious math and science whiz to his experiences as a female student at MIT in the 1970s to his female-to-male transition in his forties, to his scientific work and role as teacher and mentor at Stanford. Barres recounts his early life—his interest in science, first manifested as a fascination with the mad scientist in Superman; his academic successes; and his gender confusion. Barres felt even as a very young child that he was assigned the wrong gender. After years of being acutely uncomfortable in his own skin, Barres transitioned from female to male. He reports he felt nothing but relief on becoming his true self. He was proud to be a role model for transgender scientists. Contents Foreword Introduction Life Growing Up Gender Confusion While Growing Up MIT Medical Training Doctoral Training Postdoctoral Years Starting Out at Stanford Transitioning from Barbara to Ben Science Development of Methods to Purify and Culture CNS Neurons Why Do CNS Neurons Fail to Regenerate Their Axons after Injury? Understanding Oligodendrocyte Development, Node of Ranvier Formation, and Myelination Development of Methods to Purify and Culture Astrocytes and Elucidation of the Astrocyte Transcriptome Elucidation of Active Roles of Astrocytes in Synapse Formation and Function Elucidation of Active Roles of Astrocytes and Microglia in Synapse Pruning Understanding Human Astrocytes: Is There an Astrocytic Basis to Humanity? Development of New Tools to Study Microglia Studies of Blood-Brain Barrier Formation Understanding Reactive Astrocytes and Their Roles in Neurodegenerative Diseases Founding a Biotech Company Advocacy Mentoring Young Scientists Training Young Scientists about Human Biology and Disease Helping Women in Science Summing Up Biographical Notes Trainees in the Barres Lab Notes Index