Marc Tessier-Lavigne | |
---|---|
![]() Tessier-Lavigne in 2013 | |
11th President of Stanford University | |
In office September 1, 2016 –August 31, 2023 | |
Preceded by | John L. Hennessy |
Succeeded by | Richard Saller |
10th President of Rockefeller University | |
In office 2011–2016 | |
Preceded by | Paul Nurse |
Succeeded by | Richard P. Lifton |
Personal details | |
Born | Marc Trevor Tessier-Lavigne December 18,1959 |
Nationality | Canada United States |
Children | 3 |
Education | McGill University (BS) New College,Oxford (BA) University College London (PhD) |
Scientific career | |
Awards | Gruber Prize in Neuroscience 2020 |
Fields | Neuroscience |
Institutions | University of California,San Francisco Genentech Rockefeller University Stanford University |
Thesis | Processing of Signals and Noise in the Outer Retina of the Salamander (1987) |
Doctoral advisor | David Attwell |
Other academic advisors | Thomas Jessell |
Marc Trevor Tessier-Lavigne (born December 18,1959) is a Canadian-American neuroscientist. He served as the 11th president of Stanford University from 2016 to 2023 and the 10th president of Rockefeller University in New York City from 2011 to 2016,and a professor at the University of California,San Francisco.
He was formerly executive vice president for research and the chief scientific officer at Genentech. [1] In 2021,he joined the boards of directors of Denali Therapeutics and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals,as well as the scientific advisory boards of Denali Therapeutics and Agios Pharmaceuticals. [2] [3] [4]
In 2022,the Stanford board of trustees opened an investigation into allegations that Tessier-Lavigne might have been involved in fabricating results in articles published between 2001 and 2008,while working at Genentech. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] He was subsequently cleared of scientific fraud and misconduct in July 2023,when the trustees' report was released,then announced that he would step down as president of Stanford,effective August 31,2023. [10] He is known for landmark research into the mechanisms of brain wiring during embryonic development.
Tessier-Lavigne was born in Trenton,Ontario,Canada. He grew up in Europe from ages 7 to 17,where his father was serving with NATO as part of the Canadian Armed Forces. [11] He was the first in his family to attend university. [12]
Tessier-Lavigne received a Bachelor of Science with a major in physics from McGill University in 1980,a Bachelor of Arts with a major in philosophy and physiology from New College,Oxford,in 1982,and a Doctor of Philosophy in physiology from University College London in 1987. [13]
Tessier-Lavigne attended New College,Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship,where he "first encountered the nervous system and fell in love with it," graduating with first-class honors. [1] [14] [13] His doctoral advisor at University College London was David Attwell. He did postdoctoral research at the MRC Developmental Neurobiology Unit at University College London in 1987 and at the Center for Neurobiology and Behavior at Columbia University with Thomas Jessell from 1987 to 1991. [15] [13]
Tessier-Lavigne started his career at the University of California,San Francisco,from 1991 to 2001,and was soon noted for research into the mechanisms of brain wiring during embryonic development. [16] He was a professor of biological sciences at Stanford University from 2001 to 2003. [17] Genentech hired him in 2003 as its senior vice president of Research Drug Discovery. He cited the firm's "potential to create breakthrough therapies for unmet medical needs" as his reason for leaving academia. [1] [18] His research on the development of the brain has uncovered details of how Alzheimer's disease is triggered. [1]
In 2011 Tessier-Lavigne joined Rockefeller University as its 10th president,succeeding Paul Nurse,who returned to Britain to take over as president of the Royal Society. [1] Rockefeller University called Tessier-Lavigne,who supervised a team of 1,400 researchers,the "Board's unanimous first choice for the position". [14] He would be the first high-ranking science employee to leave Genentech following its acquisition by Roche in March 2009. The departure of Tessier-Lavigne from Genentech raised concerns that the company —described by The New York Times as being "among the most innovative and successful biotechnology companies in the world" —would see a negative effect on its scientific culture. Tessier-Lavigne stated that his choice to leave Genentech was unrelated to the Roche merger and that "this is probably the only job that could have lured me away from Genentech." Russell L. Carson,chairman of the board of trustees at Rockefeller University,said that he had "literally called him cold" to offer him the position and that Tessier-Lavigne had the strong scientific background needed to oversee the 70 independent laboratories that operate within the university and whose heads report directly to the president. Richard Scheller,Tessier-Lavigne's superior,called the move "part of the tradition of exchange between academia and Genentech." [1] While it was too early to discuss specific goals,Tessier-Lavigne said that he hoped to work on transforming basic science into treatments for disease. [1]
Tessier-Lavigne is also a member of the Xconomists,an ad hoc team of editorial advisors for the tech news and media company,Xconomy. [19]
On February 4,2016,Stanford University announced that Tessier-Lavigne would become Stanford's 11th president,succeeding John L. Hennessy. [20] As president he presided over the opening of the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability,the first new school at Stanford since 1948. [21] In 2020,he was recognized as among "pioneers in elucidating the molecular mechanisms that guide axons to their targets,a key step in the formation of neural circuits",and awarded the Gruber Prize in Neuroscience. [22] That November,he was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada,one of that nation's highest honors,"for his groundbreaking contributions to developmental neuroscience,and his renowned academic leadership and strong advocacy of science." [23]
In November 2022,Stanford announced that its Board of Trustees would oversee an examination of Tessier-Lavigne's publications,over allegations that of altered images in neurobiology papers that he co-authored. Scientific integrity consultant Elisabeth Bik had raised concerns about four papers (in such journals as Science and Nature ) that were co-authored by Tessier-Lavigne,findings which were confirmed by The Stanford Daily . [6] [7] [8] In November 2022,it also came to light that Tessier-Lavigne had notified the journal Science after he was initially informed about the errors in 2015;its editor-in-chief admitted that due to an internal error,they had failed to publish the corrections for two papers. [9] [24] In February 2023,Tessier-Lavigne declared allegations "utterly false." [25]
On July 19,2023,the investigative report was released by the review committee,which concluded that the claims were "mistaken",though it criticized the standard of scientific rigor employed in one named paper. [26] The committee found that "in at least four of the five papers,there was apparent manipulation of research data by others", [27] [28] and that there was "no evidence that Tessier-Lavigne himself manipulated data... nor that he knew about manipulation at the time". Tessier-Lavigne then announced his resignation as president,effective August 31,2025,as well as his retraction or correction of five scientific papers, [26] stating that,though the report refuted allegations of fraud and misconduct against him,he chose to step down "for the good of the University" amid the immediate debate. [10] [26]
On April 23,2024,it was announced that Tessier-Lavigne would take the role of CEO of a new AI biotech drug discovery startup,Xaira Therapeutics. [29] [30]
Tessier-Lavigne met his wife,Mary Hynes,while he was a postdoctoral fellow at Columbia University. They have three children. [39]