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Home > Prizes > Prize Recipients > Silvi Rouskin

Silvi Rouskin

2021 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science

Location

Cambridge, MA

Title

Andria and Paul Heafy Whitehead Fellow, The Whitehead Institute, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Area(s) of Research

RNA structure, biochemistry, biophysics, bioinformatics, molecular biology

Education

Florida Institute of Technology (BS, Physics);
University of California, San Francisco (PhD, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)

Country of Birth

Bulgaria

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Links to learn more about Silvi Rouskin's work
  • rouskinlab.com

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biology biomedical science bulgaria covid-19 MIT molecular biology rna sars-cov2 virology Whitehead Institute women in science women in stem
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Silvi Rouskin, in a green blazer, standing in front of a wall of windows and stairwell in MIT.

“When I was 10 years old, I started saving my lunch money so I could buy a miniature microscope. It took me two years, but it was absolutely worth it. I put everything I could find under the microscope: stones, insects, and plants. I was amazed at all the patterns invisible to the naked eye.”

Silvi Rouskin’s fascination with the geometry of the natural world propelled her from a young age to pursue a career in science. Well beyond her early observations of the flora and fauna available to her as a youth, Rouskin’s studies still focus on the geometry and physical structures not visible to the bare eye: Her laboratory at the Whitehead Institute focuses on the structure of RNA molecules—particularly those of viruses—and the implications of these structures on human health.

Her early passion for science and her endeavoring spirit compelled Rouskin to leave Bulgaria at the age of 15 to participate in a student exchange program in Idaho. Rouskin felt immediately encouraged and inspired by the United States’ approach to education. “I was not only allowed but encouraged to question my superiors. I felt free to speak my mind, and often debated with my teachers.” The educational impact was profound—Rouskin was invigorated by the opportunity to defend her opinion, and to openly question things presented to her. Not feeling like Idaho was the right fit for her, Rouskin completed her GED, and applied and enrolled in college at the Florida Institute of Technology the age of 16.

Silvi Rouskin, at age 2, sitting on top of a car.
Silvi Rouskin, around age 2, in Tserovo, Sofia Province in western Bulgaria, where she was raised by her grandfather.

It was while working as a staff research associate in the laboratory of Dr. Joseph DeRisi at the University of California, San Francisco, that Rouskin first began studying RNA, particularly looking at the development of techniques for the detection of viruses associated with human disease.

Silvi Rouskin looking at a monitor in her scientific lab.

With funding from rigorous institutions, including the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Rouskin’s laboratory has evidenced how structure influences RNA processing and gene expression in HIV-1. Most recently, Rouskin uncovered the higher-order structure of the RNA genome of SARS-CoV2—the virus that causes COVID-19—in infected cells at high resolution.

Silvi Rouskin holding a report and talking with graduate students.
Courtesy of Silvi Rouskin/Whitehead Institute.

“The goal of my own lab has been to perform basic RNA research with clear therapeutic applications and a particular focus on the vulnerabilities of RNA viruses,” says Rouskin. She states it is her fascination with human intelligence and resilience that inspires her to do work with an impact on preserving and supporting human health. “I want my research to matter for medicine, and so I always approach my research with a cognizance of how my work can directly benefit people.”

 

Awards and Accomplishments

  • Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award (2015)
  • UCSF Chancellor’s Fellowship (2007)

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Tags
biology biomedical science bulgaria covid-19 MIT molecular biology rna sars-cov2 virology Whitehead Institute women in science women in stem

Jury Members

2021 Vilcek Prize for Creative Promise in Biomedical Science

Heran Darwin

Professor, Department of Microbiology, New York University

Laurie Dempsey

Senior Editor, Nature Immunology, Nature Publishing Group

Yibin Kang

Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis Professor of Molecular Biology, Princeton University

Harmit S. Malik

Principal Investigator, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center

Luciano A. Marraffini

Kayden Family Professor, The Rockefeller University

Leslie B. Vosshall

Robin Chemers Neustein Professor of Neurogenetics and Behavior, The Rockefeller University

Jedd D. Wolchok

Lloyd J. Old/Virginia and Daniel K. Ludwig Chair in Clinical Investigation, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
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Related Prize Recipients

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