Marla Sokolowski

Marla Sokolowski
Born (1955-07-20) July 20, 1955
Other namesMarla Sokolowski
OccupationBehavioral geneticist
Years active1981–present
Known fordiscovery of the foraging gene
TitleUniversity Professor
Children2
Academic background
EducationUniversity of Toronto
Alma materUniversity of Toronto
ThesisEvolution of Behavioural Strategies in Drosophila: genetic analyses (1980)
Academic work
Discipline
Main interests
  • behaviour genetics
  • drosophila neurogenetics
  • gene by environment interactions
  • genomics
  • molecular
Websitehttps://sokolowski.eeb.utoronto.ca/

Marla B. Sokolowski FRSC is a University Professor in the Departments of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Toronto. Sokolowski is a scientist whose work is widely considered to be groundbreaking, foundational for a variety of fields, and instrumental in refutations of genetic determinism, and has, according to the Royal Society of Canada, "permanently changed the way we frame questions about individual differences in behaviour". Sokolowski's comprehensive study of the fruit fly and other animal systems, including humans, has shaped fundamental concepts in behavioural evolution, plasticity, and genetic pleiotropy. Specifically, Sokolowski is best known for her discovery of the foraging gene. Sokolowski was the 2020 recipient of the Flavelle Medal. Sokolowski is only one of two women to ever win the award- the other being Margaret Newton in 1948.