Marlene Belfort

Marlene Belfort is a pioneering molecular biologist internationally recognized for her research on introns and inteins, the non-coding regions of DNA that help regulate genes. She is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, a Fellow of both the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Academy of Microbiology, and a recipient of the International RNA Society's Lifetime Achievement Award. Her memoir, Mommy, Can Boys Also Be Doctors?, traces her path from a childhood in apartheid South Africa, and the loss of her father, to a career at the forefront of science while raising a family, with reflections on resilience, ambition, and balancing work and motherhood.