From the heart
Growing up near Springfield, Mass., Laurie Boyer was always interested in science but didn’t have many opportunities to satisfy her curiosity. She was unsure how to pursue a career in science and was instead encouraged to put her energy into working after school. However, Boyer persevered and became the first person in her family to attend college, eventually earning a PhD and joining the faculty of MIT’s Department of Biology, where she recently earned tenure. She now studies how cells regulate the complex genetic pathways that control their development from stem cells to mature tissues, especially cardiac tissue. “I have always been inspired and motivated by solving complex problems in biology,” says Boyer, the Irwin and Helen Sizer Career Development Associate Professor in Biology at MIT. “I’m so incredibly curious that it’s a driving force. I have to have the answer.” That search for answers has led her to discoveries that may help scientists...