Anthony Ricci, PhD
Professor of Otolaryngology and (by Courtesy) Molecular and Cellular Physiology
Academia became my career, and Stanford my home, in a somewhat accidental way. I was raised in the Bronx where neither education nor science were considered of much value. Heeding some excellent advice from my grandmother, I went away to college at Case Western Reserve University where I was introduced to a research laboratory through a work study program.
I continued pursuing science as an undergraduate researcher and later as a post bac. I spent two years in the lab of Dr. David Lust where I learned that I not only liked research, but was also pretty good at it and could make a living out of it. I took a traditional route and attended graduate school in New Orleans, where I became enamored with sensory neuroscience. From there I completed two postdoctoral fellowships in Texas and Wisconsin. I was able to return to the city I fell in love with, New Orleans, as a faculty member. In 2006, Hurricane Katrina washed us out of New Orleans and into Stanford University.
Since coming to Stanford, I have worn a variety of hats. I run a medium-sized lab that uses electrophysiological, molecular and optical tools to understand how hearing works from the cell level to the systems level. I am also the director of the Neuroscience Graduate Program as well as the co-director of the ADVANCE Summer Institute. I serve on a variety of committees whose common thread is to support diversity and graduate education at multiple levels. I feel strongly that universities and the faculty, staff and students associated with the university should be role models for the community and country when it comes to advocating the value of education, diversity and data-based decision-making. Now more then ever we need strong leaders with a clear vision and who prioritize justice, inclusion and sustainability. Mentoring and training the next generation of leaders is one of the most important things that I do. My mentorship style varies with the person and topic of discussion, but I tend to mostly listen and help the mentee identify solutions best suited to their own values and priorities.
Students can email Tony directly at aricci@stanford.edu or call his office phone at 650-736-1290.