Before Barres began focusing on them, nobody really had understood what astrocytes do for a living. According to a story from the Chicago Tribune, Ben Barres, a widely renowned neurobiologist and researcher, passed away at age sixty-three after fighting pancreatic cancer. He got his first taste of science in the West Orange Public Library, developed an affinity for microscopes and chemistry sets, and became a high school math star. Not only was he an incredible scientist, but he also cared deeply about other people, especially his trainees. In doing so, Barres seeded an entire field of scientists studying glia, said Andrew Huberman, PhD, an associate professor of neurobiology at Stanford who was Barres’ postdoctoral advisee from 2005 through 2010. And Ben was the nucleus that kept us all together.”. Friends and loved ones of Ben Gergerich mourn and offer their condolences on social media on March 15, 2020. He and his colleagues also discovered that astrocytes cooperate with microglia — a third glial-cell type that’s become the object of much recent attention in Barres’ lab — in pruning away excess synapses during fetal and neonatal development, in essence preserving brain circuitry that’s proven itself to perform legitimate activities and clearing out the dead wood. Ben Barres, professor of neurobiology at Stanford University and member of the JCB editorial board for over 15 years, passed away on December 27, 2017, after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer. Acclaimed Stanford neuroscientist Ben Barres, MD, PhD, died on Dec. 27, 20 months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Ben Sutin Death Dead – Ben Sutin Obituary: Cause of Death. A professor of neurobiology, of developmental biology and of neurology, Barres was widely praised as a stellar and passionate scientist whose methodologic rigor was matched only by his energy and enthusiasm. But Barres and the numerous trainees who cycled through his lab showed otherwise. Last month he killed himself. During his subsequent internship and residency in clinical neurology at Cornell, Barres grew increasingly frustrated at physicians’ inability to provide cures or even to understand the causes of neuronal degeneration. In an interview about this study, Barres described these findings as “the most important discovery my lab has ever made.”, “Wherever we look in degenerating cortical tissue, we find reactive astrocytes,” said the study’s lead author, Shane Liddelow, PhD, a postdoctoral scholar in Barres’ lab. Ben Barres was known for his groundbreaking scientific work and for his groundbreaking advocacy for gender equality in science. In 2011, Barres co-founded a biotechnology company, Annexon Biosciences, to translate these findings into drugs that could someday succeed in retarding or preventing the progression of neurodegenerative disorders. His obsession was glia. “People had thought glia were mere passive participants in maintaining neural function. Ben Sutin’s death news was posted across the social media earlier this morning. “And now we’ve learned that a subset of these reactive astrocytes not only fail to execute their synapse-building and -pruning tasks but also secrete a factor, or combination of them, that’s toxic to damaged neurons, and that these astrocytes become malevolent only when stimulated by yet other factors secreted by microglia that are themselves in an inflammatory state.”. He passed away recently. Ben Vereen, Jr. was the beloved son of Ben Vereen, best known for his Tony and Drama Desk winning performance in Pippin. Bent on finding out why, Barres changed course. Ben Didn't Have A Cause Of Death Until The Umbrella Academy Came To Netflix. His death has caused the soon-to-be Olympic sport to ask some difficult questions about mental health. You can also share your rare story directly through the site, so being part of our community is easier than ever! These discoveries contributed to the understanding of how degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s … His mission was to bring equality to how people are treated and promoted in science.”. DeadDeath is yet to notice Ben Gergerich cause of death and obituary. Support Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford and child and maternal health. Astrocytes, star-shaped cells in the central nervous system, are essential to the survival and healthy function of brain neurons. But Ben was a very special person. Much of that field was in attendance for a celebratory symposium/reunion held in Barres’ honor at Stanford on Jan. 12, 2017. Beth Stevens, PhD, then a postdoctoral scholar in Barres’ lab, led a 2007 study showing that the cooperation of astrocytes and microglia in synaptic pruning involves the coordinated secretion of molecules previously thought to be exclusive to the body’s immune system. Ben Sutin was the CEO, Founder and Sound Mind Presents Artist Manager. “And he started by solving a big problem: No one had been able to grow glial cells in isolation.”. In April 2000, Orr was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was subsequently hospitalized, yet he continued to perform in concerts with the band Big People at summer music festivals and state fairs. “Ben was a remarkable person. They’re called glial cells or, collectively, glia. When Barres first began studying them, glia, whose name comes from the Greek word for glue, were thought to be not much more than packing peanuts, supplying positional stability and various nutrients to the brain’s much more talented neurons. “Ben pioneered the idea that glia play a central role in sculpting the wiring diagram of our brain and are integral for maintaining circuit function throughout our lives,” said Thomas Clandinin, PhD, professor of neurobiology, who assumed the role of departmental chair in April 2016 when Barres, who had held the position from 2008 until then, was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. “When I left Stanford for my new job,” she said, “Ben told me, ‘Take this work with you to your new lab, Beth. Barres would routinely work in the lab until 2 or 3 a.m., said Raff. We’re really a tightly knit family. Ben’s own work and that of his trainees transformed this view entirely.”. Barres showed, among other things, that electrical activity in neurons was necessary for neurons’ myelination. Then he embarked on a postdoctoral fellowship in the lab of Martin Raff, MD, a professor of biology at University College London who was using immunological techniques to tease apart the three classes of glial cells. Ben Vereen, Jr. Death | Ben Vereen, Jr. Obituary – Ben Vereen, Jr., the son of Tony-winning actor Ben Vereen has passed away. Liddelow hadn’t initially intended to study glia. Barres spent his last days and final hours making sure that the letters of recommendation he had written for others were ready. The Stanford neuroscientist’s research focused on the cells in the brain that aren’t nerve cells. Barres’ research focused on the nine of every 10 cells in the human brain that aren’t nerve cells, or neurons. But Mr Goi, the youngest child of Popiah King Sam Goi, died from a brain haemorrhage after suffering a stroke in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on Sunday. He was 63. “He always gave more than he took. Stanford Medicine is closely monitoring the outbreak of novel coronavirus (COVID-19). He was elected to membership in the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine. Recent evidence from Barres’ lab indicates that glia gone wrong may be to blame for many of the neurodegenerative disorders that vex humanity. In the foreword to Barres’ new book, The Autobiography of a Transgender Scientist (MIT Press, 2018), friend and scientist Nancy Hopkins, PhD, said that many people had urged Barres to get his extraordinary life down on paper, to no avail. Barres’ path-breaking discoveries of the crucial roles played by glial cells — the unsung majority of brain cells, which aren’t nerve cells — revolutionized the field of neuroscience. He was an inspiration, and I, like so many others, am a better person for having known him.”. These fat-filled cells were already understood to wrap themselves around neurons’ lengthy projections, a process called myelination, providing electrical insulation and vastly increasing the transmission speed and reliability of neuronal impulses. Now, by creating a login below, you can customize your homepage to the rare conditions that are most important to you. He especially championed the cause of women in the sciences, with whom he empathized; he was transgender. Mr. Barres was credited with breakthrough discoveries about the structure and functions of the brain. Collectively called glia, these “other” cells play a central role in sculpting and maintaining the brain’s wiring diagram. Bruce Goldman is a science writer in the Office of Communications. A young Ben Barres in the laboratory Ben Barres, MD, PhD, an influential and groundbreaking neuroscientist, passed away on Dec. 27, 2017, at the age of 63 after a 20-month battle with pancreatic cancer. Over the course of his career, Barres’ published 167 peer-reviewed papers, organized and chaired numerous meetings, won many awards and served on the editorial boards of Science, Neuron, the Journal of Neuroscience, the Journal of Cell Biology, Glia, Current Biology and more. These are the most common cells in the human brain, outnumbering neurons by a factor of four or so. With his colleagues, he discovered that they are crucial to the physical formation of synapses, as well as to those synapses’ functional activation. This new knowledge revolutionized neurological research. We’ve heard your feedback. “I’ve gone a lot of places in the months since Ben was diagnosed, and I haven’t gone anywhere yet where someone hasn’t come up to me and asked me about how Ben was doing. A dedicated page provides the latest information and developments related to the pandemic. Today Ben Barres would be 66 years old. Stanford University School of Medicine neuroscientists have discovered a new role played by a common but mysterious class of brain cells. Ben Barres (born Barbara Barres) was a passionate researcher of the role of glia, the most numerous type of brain cell, in development and disease. “I didn’t like peanut butter. I switched fields in a heartbeat, just so I could work with him.”, Liddelow sat next to Barres during the meeting. “He had a selfless, outward-looking focus,” Clandinin said. Pancreatic Cancer Claims The Life of Ben Barres, a Transgender Neurobiologist, Patient Worthy Content Submission Guidelines. Stanford Medicine integrates research, medical education and health care at its three institutions - Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford Health Care (formerly Stanford Hospital & Clinics), and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital Stanford. Our condolences are forward to his family and friends for the loss of life. I agree to the Terms of Use & Privacy Policy. Stanford Medicine is leading the biomedical revolution in precision health, defining and developing the next generation of care that is proactive, predictive and precise. Barres also realized that a type of glial cells called astrocytes could actually have harmful effects under certain conditions, and contributed to the degenerative activity that occurs during dementia and Alzheimer’s. Stanford University physician and neuroscientist Ben Barres, PhD, who died of pancreatic cancer on December 27, 2017, had a love affair with glial cells. Ben Cross was an English stage and film actor from London, best known for his roles in the films Chariots of Fire and Stark Trek. In 2008, he became chair of neurobiology. Learn how we are healing patients through science & compassion, Stanford team stimulates neurons to induce particular perceptions in mice's minds, Students from far and near begin medical studies at Stanford. He returned to academia, enrolling in a graduate program in Harvard Medical School’s neuroscience program in 1983, and published several research papers by the time he received his PhD in neurobiology in 1990. But in the months before his death at 63 in December 2017, he committed his story to print. Early on, he generated tools that allowed each of the three distinct types of glial cells to be purified and cultured in a way that retained all of their functionality, so they could be studied in a dish with a previously unobtainable acuity. Barres was an outspoken advocate for gender equity in the sciences, not infrequently digressing for a few minutes during his scientific talks to point out the differences he’d personally experienced in how other scientists treated him when they perceived him as a woman versus as a man. Nobody can do it better than you.’ Mentors aren’t always so generous about ceding areas of research initiated in their lab to trainees headed elsewhere. “He was happily handing me one after another peanut butter and jelly sandwich,” Liddelow recalled. Vereen Jr. initially went missing for two weeks. Barres is known for his pathbreaking work in identifying the crucial role of glial cells in the human brain. Barres never lost sight of his original goal: to figure out the molecular and cellular causes of the brain tissue degeneration seen in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases; multiple sclerosis; amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease; and glaucoma, an optic-nerve degenerative disease. His new autobiography — published, sadly, after his death last year from pancreatic cancer — testifies to his personal courage on two fronts: first, as a dogged investigator of glia, the brain’s most numerous cells, which many had written off as purposeless; and second, as an advocate for female and gender-nonconforming scientists. Ben left an indelible mark on the scientific community as a scientist, an advocate for equality, and an unbelievably supportive mentor.
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