Mentoring the Whole Scientist
At the heart of Larschan's approach is a simple but powerful idea that personal well-being and professional success are not in competition. Nominators frequently cited her ability to see the person behind the researcher, offering unwavering support through personal hardships, health crises, and the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Over decades, Larschan has devoted herself to advising students and faculty across the several graduate programs, and her own lab, leaving a lasting impact on Brown’s scientific community.
“She continues to be one of my most cherished mentors because she considers the whole person: as a scientist, as a student, and simply as a person making their way through the world,” noted Leila Rieder, former postdoctoral fellow and current assistant professor at Emory University.
Others have echoed this sentiment, highlighting how Larschan emphasizes the importance of work-life balance, often sharing words of wisdom about the need to cultivate joy outside of the laboratory to sustain a healthy, well-rounded life.
A Training Ground for Excellence
The results of that mentorship speak for themselves. “Erica’s mentorship of graduate students has been exemplary. Her lab has become a premier training ground, characterized by steady growth in capacity and an elite record of trainee professionalization,” says Susan A. Gerbi, George D. Eggleston Professor Emerita of Biochemistry and Professor of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry.
Under Larschan's guidance, students have earned Brown's highest doctoral honor, the Joukowsky Dissertation Prize, alongside competitive national fellowships including HHMI Gilliam Fellowships, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships, and numerous travel awards.
For Larschan, these achievements are deeply personal. "My greatest accomplishment is the success of my mentees and it has been a great honor to mentor such a remarkable group of young scientific leaders,” says Larschan.
Cultivating Scientific Communities
Beyond her own lab, Larschan has been a catalyst for institutional growth and community building. She served as the Director of the Center for Computational Molecular Biology graduate program, where she helped triple the student population, and currently leads NIH-T32 predoctoral training grant for the Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry program.
Ritambhara Singh, Associate Professor of Computer Science, notes that Larschan has also been a terrific mentor to junior faculty, guiding them with advising students, grant-writing, and collaborations. Larschan would often reach out to junior faculty for informal lunches to discuss any questions or concerns about navigating an academic career.
Her commitment to fostering connection led to the founding of several scientific forums including the Brown Drosophila Fly Club and the Epigenetics Club. As one former student noted, “She does not just talk about community; she builds it intentionally,” pointing specifically to her annual lab retreats as a key driver in fostering long-term camaraderie.
Building Inclusive Excellence
Larschan's commitment to equity in science has been equally deliberate. In 2016–2017, she participated in the inaugural mentor training cohort for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) Gilliam program, an initiative dedicated to supporting graduate students from underrepresented minorities. The experience, which included intensive monthly webinars and multi-day sessions at HHMI headquarters, became a springboard for broader institutional change.
From 2020 to 2023, she organized and led mentor training for faculty within the Molecular Biology, Cell Biology and Biochemistry graduate program, work that helped shape the mentor training framework now adopted by the Division of Biology and Medicine Office of Graduate Study. In 2022, she founded a program pairing first-generation undergraduates with first-generation graduate students, jointly funded by HHMI and Brown.
“Erica doesn’t just go above and beyond, she goes leagues beyond that. Her mentoring ripples from those whom she directly impacts to those they mentor, and on, and on. In science, we tend to recognize and award research achievements, and Erica has plenty of those as well. But as a mentor she is unparalleled and very deserving of this award,” shares Rieder.
Research Excellence and Innovation
Beyond her profound commitment to mentorship, Larschan has established a distinguished research career defined by interdisciplinary innovation and high-impact contributions to the field of Drosophila dosage compensation. Since founding her laboratory at Brown sixteen years ago, she has authored over 30 influential publications in premier journals such as Science, Nature Communications, and eLife, while maintaining consistent funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.
Her expertise is widely recognized through prestigious honors, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers and frequent invitations to serve as a keynote speaker and editorial reviewer. Larshan’s research integrates cutting-edge molecular biology, genomics, and computational methodologies. Her lab has pioneered novel tools like TimeFlies and BindCompare to analyze complex genomic data, reflecting her talent for advancing discovery at the intersection of subfields such as computational biology, aging, and neurobiology through her leadership across multiple prominent campus centers and institutes.
Faculty members Erica Larschan, Daniel Harris, Stephen Bush, and Holly Case receive the Graduate School’s Faculty Award for Advising & Mentoring at the University Awards Ceremony on April 29, 2026.