Monica Dus

Monica Dus is an associate professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology at the University of Michigan. She is a member of the Michigan Neuroscience Institute and the Michigan Obesity and Nutrition Research Center, as well as an affiliate of the Science, Technology, and Public Policy Program at the Ford School of Public Policy. Dus was named a 2023 Guggenheim Fellow, a 2023–2024 White House Fellow, and a 2024–2026 member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine New Voices program.

At U-M, Dus leads a multidisciplinary, NIH- and NSF-funded laboratory investigating the interplay between food, genes, and physiology. She also teaches Molecular Genetics, Neuroscience, and Science Communication to over 500 undergraduates annually. Beyond the lab and classroom, she engages the public through writing, community events on personalized nutrition, genetics, and neuroscience, and podcasts exploring the intersections of science and society.

Dus is deeply invested in the role of science and technology in shaping national power, security, and competitiveness. From 2023 to 2024, she served as Special Assistant for Science, Education, and Force Resiliency (GS-14) to the 78th Secretary of the Navy. In this role, she contributed to the $80M cross-sector Michigan Maritime Initiative, the Department of the Navy Science and Technology Strategy and Board, the Naval Education Strategy, the Education for Seapower Advisory Board, and the Navy Integrative Resilience and Mental Health efforts, for which she received the Navy Superior Civilian Service Award. She also serves on the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Vision for American Science & Technology task force, working to strengthen the U.S. science and technology enterprise through cross-sector collaboration and strategic foresight.

Her scientific, communication, and service work has been recognized with honors, including the Navy Superior Civilian Service Award, the NIH New Innovator Award, the NSF CAREER Award, the Sloan Research Fellowship, the Rita Allen Scholar Award, the Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship in Neuroscience, the Ajinomoto Young Investigator Award for Gustation Research, the Society for Neurogenetics and Behavior Early Career Award, and the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation Young Investigator Award. Dus’s research has been featured in over 80 academic talks across 12 countries and highlighted in major media outlets, including NPR, PBS, Bloomberg, Scientific American, Forbes, and Women’s Health.

Dus earned her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology from the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory School of Biological Sciences, where she studied RNA-based gene regulation, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in neurobiology at the Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine at NYU, investigating nutrient sensing mechanisms.