Susan M. Dymecki

Dymecki's research focuses on genetic engineering in mammalian models. She has developed and utilized many transgenic tools to subtype neurons by molecular identity, and probe each subtype's function, location, connectivity and origin--as illustrated in her game-changing discoveries in the brain serotonergic system. She has also identified numerous subtypes of serotonergic neurons, and uncovered their network nodes and discrete functions, from respiratory to affective. Her research into this heterogeneity brings insight into serotonin neuron involvement in such diverse disorders as autism, SIDS, and depression, providing ways to conceptualize and potentially attack these intractable diseases. 

Committed to faculty and student mentorship and graduate education, Dymecki is currently Director of the Biological and Biomedical Sciences (BBS) Ph.D. Program, the largest bioscience Ph.D. training program at Harvard, after having served prior as Associate Director. Dymecki has received the HMS Morgan-Zinsser Teaching Faculty Fellowship Award, the 2004 BBS Ph.D. Program mentoring award, and Harvard’s A. Clifford Barger Excellence in Mentoring Award in 2017. She is is an alumna scholar and Scientific Advisory Committee member of the Rita Allen Foundation.