Ben was an OEB graduate student in the lab from 2008-2014. He was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship in support of his PhD work, and he successfully defended his Ph.D. thesis on April 18, 2014 – see photos of the champagne toasts here.

for his doctoral work, Ben worked on germ cell specification in basally branching insects, and on the evolution of the function of the oskar gene.

Ben was then awarded an NRSA postdoctoral fellowship from the NIH to join the lab of Norbert Perrimon at the Harvard Medical School.

Ben also successfully ran for City Councilor of Somerville Ward 3, and now serves his constituents with a focus on issues including affordable housing, sustainable community economics, and serving the senior community.