Rachel Wong is an American neuroscientist who is a professor of Biological Structure at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

. She studies the developmental mechanisms that determine synaptic connectivity in the

central nervous system The central nervous system (CNS) is the part of the nervous system consisting primarily of the brain and spinal cord. The CNS is so named because the brain integrates the received information and coordinates and influences the activity of all par ...

. She was elected to the National Vision Research Institute of Australia in 2018 and the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

in 2021.

Early life and education

Wong attended high school in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

where she first became interested in physics. She would spend her lunch breaks examining living things, collected from a creek near her home, under the school microscope. Growing up, she learned to play musical instruments, much encouraged by her father. She moved to

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

for her undergraduate degree, where she majored in physics and completed a research project in collaboration with the Biochemistry department. Specifically, her research used

x-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...

and neutron scattering to better understand

muscular dystrophy Muscular dystrophies (MD) are a genetically and clinically heterogeneous group of rare neuromuscular diseases that cause progressive weakness and breakdown of skeletal muscles over time. The disorders differ as to which muscles are primarily affe ...

. Wong earned her doctorate in vision science at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

. Her doctoral research, under the supervision of Professor Abbie Hughes, investigated the cellular organization and

ontogeny Ontogeny (also ontogenesis) is the origination and development of an organism (both physical and psychological, e.g., moral development), usually from the time of fertilization of the egg to adult. The term can also be used to refer to the stu ...

of the cat retinal ganglion cell layer. She moved to the National Research Institute of Australia as a research associate, where she worked under Professor Abbie Hughes and Dr. David I. Vaney before moving to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. Wong was a C.J. Martin Fellow at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

, mentored by Professor Carla J. Shatz. After a few years in the States, Wong returned to the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

as an R.D. Wright Fellow in Dr. Vaney's laboratory at the Vision, Touch and Hearing Research Center led by Professor Jack Pettigrew.

Research and career

Wong joined the faculty of the Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

in 1994, where she was promoted to Professor in 2004. In 2006, she moved to the

. to join the Department of Biological Structure and became the chair of department in 2017. Wong studies the developmental mechanisms that determine synaptic connectivity in the

. Her research has focussed on identifying the cellular mechanisms underlying the proper assembly of neural circuits in the vertebrate retina of a variety of species, including human, '' Danio rerio'' (

Zebrafish The zebrafish (''Danio rerio'') is a freshwater fish belonging to the minnow family ( Cyprinidae) of the order Cypriniformes. Native to South Asia, it is a popular aquarium fish, frequently sold under the trade name zebra danio (and thus often ...

) and mice. Wong investigates the development of neural circuitry ''in vivo'' and ''in vitro'' using cellular imaging approaches and molecular genetics. Wong was appointed to the steering committee of the National Eye Institute Audacious Goals Initiative (AGI), a challenge which looks to identify and support the most promising research towards curing blindness. She was a Rothmans Fellow (Sydney University Endowment), an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow, an Esther A. and Joseph Klingenstein Fellow, and a Paul G. Allen Distinguished Investigator. Her research achievements in vision science are acknowledged by the Brian B. Boycott Prize (FASEB Retinal Neurobiology and Visual Processing), the Helen Keller Award (Department of Ophthalmology, University of Washington and the Lions Club of Multiple District 19), and the Friedenwald Award (the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology). In 2021, she was elected to the National Academy of Sciences.

Awards and honors

* 2018 Elected Fellow of the National Vision Research Institute of Australia * 2021 Elected to the

Selected publications

* * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wong, Rachel Living people Year of birth missing (living people) University of Washington faculty American women neuroscientists American neuroscientists Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences Monash University alumni Australian National University alumni 21st-century American women Washington University in St. Louis faculty Stanford University fellows