The autobiography of a transgender scientist / Ben Barres ; foreword by Nancy Hopkins.

Cambridge, Massachusetts : The MIT Press, [2018]

xviii, 142 pages ; 21 cm

Includes bibliographical references (pages 125-136) and index.

Introduction -- Life -- Growing up -- Gender confusion while growing up -- MIT-- Medical training -- Doctoral training -- Postdoctoral years -- Starting out at Stanford -- Transitioning from Barbara to Ben -- Science -- Development of methods to purify and culture CNS neurons -- Why do CNS neurons fail to regenerate their axons after injury? -- Understanding oligodendrocyte development, node of Ranvier Formation, and myelination -- Development of methods to purify and culture astrocytes and elucidation of the astrocyte transcriptome -- Elucidation of active roles of astrocytes in synapse formation and function -- Elucidation of active roles of astrocytes and microglia in synapse pruning -- Understanding human astrocytes : is there an astrocytic basis to humanity? -- Development of new tools to study microglia -- Studies of blood-brain barrier formation -- Understanding reactive astrocytes and their roles in neurodegenerative diseases -- Founding a biotech company -- Advocacy -- Mentoring young scientists -- Training young scientists about human biology and disease -- Helping women in science -- Summing up -- Trainees in the Barres Lab.