Leslie B Vosshall

Leslie Vosshall is the Robin Chemers Neustein Professor and Head of the Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Behavior at The Rockefeller University, and Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Her research focuses on the molecular neurobiology of mosquito host-seeking and blood-feeding behavior, with the goal of developing new strategies to block mosquito biting and interrupt the spread of viral pathogens. She is also known for foundational work on the genetic basis of chemosensory behavior in insects and humans, including the discovery of insect odorant receptors and the genetic underpinnings of human smell disorders.

At HHMI, she directs a the Science department with a research portfolio spanning the Investigator, Freeman Hrabowski Scholars, Hanna H. Gray Fellows, Gilliam Fellows, and Cech Fellows Programs, and leads ongoing efforts to improve lab culture and support inclusion in science.

She has received numerous honors including the 2024 Dickson Prize in Medicine and the 2025 Scolnick Prize in Neuroscience, and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, the American Philosophical Society, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Vosshall received her A.B. from Columbia University and her Ph.D. from The Rockefeller University, and conducted postdoctoral work at Columbia before joining the Rockefeller faculty in 2000.