Rachel Wilson, Ph.D.

Detailed description

A one-page faculty profile for Rachel Wilson, Ph.D., displayed on a white background with dark burgundy text, pale pink accents, and a thin yellow line running horizontally and vertically through the page. A circular portrait of Rachel Wilson appears in the upper-right corner. She has short, curly brown hair and is wearing a green top.

The main heading reads “Rachel Wilson, Ph.D.” Beneath it, the profile identifies her as “Joseph B. Martin Professor of Basic Research in the Field of Neurobiology, Harvard Medical School” and “Investigator, Howard Hughes Medical Institute.”

Near the top of the page are an email address and website: “Rachel_Wilson@hms.harvard.edu” and “https://wilson.hms.harvard.edu/”.

The Aim

The profile states: “The Wilson Lab investigates how the brain processes sensory input to guide behavior.”

The Impact

The profile explains that every time people catch a scent, register a sound, or orient toward a target, the brain rapidly translates sensory signals into information meaningful enough to guide action. The Wilson Lab traces how this transformation occurs, from the initial detection of a stimulus to the neural circuits that guide a navigational response.

The profile states that these discoveries could shed light on how human brains combine sensory information for navigation and movement. This work could help researchers understand and treat conditions affecting sensory processing, coordination, and learning.

A Closer Look

The lower portion of the profile contains two research highlights. The first is labeled “LinkedIn” and dated “October 2025.” It includes an image of a colorful, three-dimensional wiring diagram of the adult fruit fly nervous system, with blue, purple, orange, and green neural structures on a black background. A play button appears over the image.

The text beside the first image reads: “LinkedIn video post from Harvard Medical School highlighting scientists’ release of a detailed wiring diagram of the adult fruit fly nervous system, mapping how its neurons connect and communicate.”

The second research highlight is labeled “Harvard Medical School” and dated “November 2019.” It includes a black-and-white video still showing a fruit fly in a virtual-reality experiment. Video controls, including a play button, appear along the bottom of the image.

The text beside the second image reads: “An HMS news article describing how virtual reality experiments in fruit flies reveal that ‘compass’ neurons use visual cues to rapidly remap the brain’s sense of direction, shedding light on flexible mental maps and short-term memory.”

The profile identifies Rachel Wilson’s email address as Rachel_Wilson@hms.harvard.edu and provides the Wilson Lab website: https://wilson.hms.harvard.edu/ .

Related links

• Watch the Harvard Medical School LinkedIn video about the adult fruit fly nervous system wiring diagram — October 2025
• Read the Harvard Medical School article about compass neurons, visual cues, and the brain’s sense of direction — November 2019