Prof. Eve Marder ’69 (NBIO) has been named to the inaugural class of fellows of the American Physiological Society, a group dedicated to research and publication in the biomedical field. Founded in 1887 with only 28 members, the Society now has over 10,500 members from various institutions nationwide.

“It’s an honor, and I appreciate that,” Marder said in an interview with the Justice. “It is a vote of admiration from your peers, so that’s nice,” she added.

The APS requires at least 15 years of continuous post-doctoral membership for a fellowship nomination, as well as two written letters of recommendation from members of the Society.

Holding its fellows in high esteem, the American Physiological Society states on its website, “APS Fellow status not only acknowledges noteworthy scientific and professional accomplishments, but also outstanding leadership and service to the Society.”

Marder herself regards the Society very highly, she said, especially its long-standing history of publishing some of the most respected journals in the field.

“The American Physiological Society has been very proactive in training young scientists and in trying to lobby Congress for more money for science, so they have been on the side of the angels in many ways,” she said of the Society’s contributions to the scientific community.

Despite existing for over 125 years, this is the first year the APS has named a class of fellows, of which there are 151 members. Marder said she believes the establishment of fellows is an attempt to raise the visibility of the Society, something she said can be be good for the field of science, yet she acknowledged that she is wary of what she deems “an increasing tendency in the scientific community to create more prizes and honors.”

“The danger is, of course, that honors and awards tend to focus attention on the few and ignore the extraordinary contributions of the many,” Marder explained, emphasizing the role of the many hands involved in not just her own but all scientific work.

“It is always unfair; in other words, there are hundreds of people who have worked in my labs and contributed to the work that led to this, [who may not get recognized].”

Marder said she believes the largest merit in these awards comes from the fellows’ ability to raise awareness for the scientific community and the advancements it is making.

“To the extent to which it can be leveraged and to increasing visibility of science and scientific contributions in the greater world, from that point of view, it’s all for the good,” she said.

Addressing the contribution of her peers in her most recent accolade, Marder stated, “In my mind, they are all honored—my ex-colleagues and present colleagues.”

Marder’s work is currently focused on the nervous system of crabs, but her findings can then be applied to the nervous systems of larger organisms, she said. “Right now, we are trying to understand, in a very detailed, mechanistic level, what it means for individuals to have different nervous systems,” she explained. “How different are the brains and nerve cells in two individuals who might otherwise be completely healthy?”

According to Marder, cultivating a better understanding of the wide range of conditions that can afflict a healthy brain can, in turn, lead to a better understanding of neurological disease in general.

While Marder joked that her graduate students and lab team may not even be aware of her recognition as a fellow, Neuroscience Ph.D. candidate Al Hamood, who has worked in the Marder lab since 2010 and has collaborated extensively with Marder on many studies and publications, expressed praise for his colleague. “She [Marder] is an outstanding scientific citizen, who has not only done ground-breaking work in neurophysiology, but also is an excellent mentor,” he wrote in an email to the Justice.

“I am proud to have worked with her, and the fact that she has been able to achieve so much success, while being a woman who values honesty and integrity above her own personal achievements, highlights for me what is so great about the scientific enterprise.”

Marder is currently the Victor and Gwendolyn Beinfield Professor of Neuroscience at the University and has published many highly regarded studies in the field, most recently with her Marder lab team at Brandeis.

For six years, she was the Editor-in-Chief of the American Physiology Journal, a highly prestigious journal published by the American Physiological Society.