Villa-Komaroff, Lydia

Lydia Villa-Komaroff is a renowned molecular biologist and neurobiologist who is committed to encouraging the education and success of women and minorities in the sciences. She was one of the first Mexican American women to receive a Ph.D. in the sciences and has served as a role model for other minority women through her distinguished career in academia, government, and business. She was named one of the 100 Most Influential Hispanics in America by Hispanic Business Magazine in 2003.

Villa-Komaroff's research focuses on growth factors in brain development and the flow of genetic information in the nervous system. As a researcher at Harvard University in the 1970s, she worked in the lab of Nobel laureate Walter Gilbert as part of a team that used new ...