Pioneering neuroscientist Marc Tessier-Lavigne is professor of biology and president emeritus at Stanford University. Previously, he held executive positions in the private sector at Genentech, where he was executive vice president for research and chief scientific officer, and in the academic sector, where he served as president of The Rockefeller University and then of Stanford. Earlier he served on the faculties of the University of California, San Francisco, and of Stanford, and was an investigator with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Dr. Tessier-Lavigne has been a leader in understanding mechanisms that direct the wiring of the brain, and has helped elucidate mechanisms of neurodegeneration. He is the recipient of numerous scientific awards, including the 2020 Gruber Neuroscience Prize, and has been elected to multiple learned societies, including the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine. He is a cofounder and current director of Denali Therapeutics. Previously, he cofounded another biotechnology company, Renovis, and served on the boards of Pfizer, Regeneron, Agios and Juno.