Mary E. Hatten is elected to the National Academy of Sciences

Mary E. Hatten has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, one of the highest U.S. honors a scientist can receive. Members are elected in recognition of their distinguished and continuing scientific achievements. Hatten is among 84 new national members, the Academy announced May 2.

Hatten, who is Frederick P. Rose Professor at Rockefeller, studies the development of cellular architecture in the mammalian brain. Her work on how neurons differentiate and migrate has provided insights on the genetics of brain disease, as well as on conditions related to developmental abnormalities, such as autism, attention deficit disorder, and childhood epilepsy. Her lab pioneered the use of video-imaging methods to study how individual neurons migrate within the central nervous system. Recently, Hatten and her colleagues have described the role of a DNA-packaging protein, chromatin, in forming the cerebellum, the part of the brain that enables learning and the execution of complex movements.

With the new members elected this year, the Academy now has 2,290 members and 475 foreign associates. With Hatten’s election, Rockefeller now has 39 Academy members or foreign associates among its current faculty.