Director & CEO, Marine Biological Laboratory

Gary G. Borisy is one of the cell pioneers of our time. In 1965, he discovered the protein tubulin, which comprises a key part of the cell's cytoskeleton. He has also provided important insights into chromosome movement; the role of the protein actin, a major component of cell motility; and the dynamics of microtubules, filaments that help direct cell division. Recently, with his colleagues at the Marine Biological Laboratory, he has begun a new line of investigation investigating microbial communities through combinatorial imaging and metagenomics.

Dr. Borisy is the author of more than 200 papers and the editor of two books. His research has been recognized by numerous honors, including an NIH Research Career Development Award and an NIH MERIT Award. He is a former President of the American Society for Cell Biology, a Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a recipient of the Carl Zeiss Award from the German Society for Cell Biology.

Dr. Borisy has served on numerous panels for the National Institutes of Health, American Cancer Society, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Novartis Foundation, as well as institutional Scientific Advisory Boards, Editorial Boards, Professional Society Committees, and as a member of the International Selection Committee for the Japan Prize in Biology. He is currently a member of the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute and a member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the biotech company CombinatoRx.

Dr. Borisy received his Ph.D in biophysics from the University of Chicago and did postdoctoral study at the Medical Research Council Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge, England. He then joined the University of Wisconsin as a faculty member, rising to Professor in 1975 and Chair of the Laboratory of Molecular Biology from 1980 to 2000. Dr. Borisy moved to Northwestern University in 2000 where he was the Leslie B. Arey Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology, Distinguished Investigator in the Feinberg Cardiovascular Research Institute, and Associate Vice President for Biomedical Research. In 2006, he became the MBL’s 13th Director and 3rd CEO.