When Susan Hockfield was a student, women in the sciences had few role models. As a senior at the University of Rochester, she had come up with an idea for an interesting experiment, but lacked the confidence to carry it out herself. "People like me don’t do these things," she remembers thinking. Fortunately, a sympathetic professor encouraged her, and she resolved to pursue a career in the sciences. Today, she is a neuroscientist of international reputation, and the president of one of the world's leading research universities.

Dr. Hockfield's research has focused on the development of the brain and central nervous system. She pioneered new technology in brain research and has discovered proteins that regulate structural changes in the neurons and influence the movement of cancer cells in the brain. Among other insights, her work may open new avenues for the treatment of the deadly brain cancer glioma.

As a past Provost and Dean of Graduate Studies at Yale University, she dramatically improved the funding of graduate education and facilitated collaboration between Yale's many programs and departments. She hopes to do the same at MIT. More than a reflection of the progress of women in American science, her appointment reflects the growing importance of biological and biomedical research. In the past, the Department of Defense has been the largest contributor to research at MIT, but by 2007 their largest contributor became the National Institutes of Health.