"The Ladder" Statue Unveiling and Dedication
Event Details
On April 25, National DNA Day, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) welcomed a new statue, “The Ladder,” celebrating DNA and children.
The statue and unveiling ceremony were hosted through a collaboration involving the NIH Clinical Center, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), and the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI).
NIH Clinical Center (Building 10), Outside the North Entrance
(Private Reception to Follow – NIH Clinical Center, Room 4-2551 (Medical Board Room))
About "The Ladder"
“The Ladder” blends biblical imagery and modern science, drawing parallels between Jacob’s ladder and the structure of DNA. Here, the bend in the path of the ladder is translated into the familiar double-helix of DNA. The four messengers “ascending and descending” become the four nucleic acids that encode our genetic information. Mirroring these four messengers, or four nucleic acids, the four children climbing the ladder represent the diversity of humanity.
With this work, the artist posits that the biblical passages might imply an early understanding that the connection between past and future generations is the curving double helix, or ladder, of DNA
Event Photos
Photos from the event are available in an album on NHGRI's Flickr photostream. These photos, which are in the public domain, may be freely used and distributed. However, we request acknowledgement, such as: "Courtesy: National Human Genome Research Institute" with a link back to genome.gov.
View the Album
Agenda
Welcome
Monica Bertagnolli, M.D.
Director, National Institutes of Health
James Gilman, M.D.
CEO, NIH Clinical Center
Frank Piatkowski
NIH Office of Research Facilities
Introduction and Statue Unveiling
Diana Bianchi, M.D.
Director, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Artist Statement
Mary Ellen Scherl
Artist
Family Statement
John Constantino, M.D.
Emory University School of Medicine
About DNA Day and Closing Statement
Eric Green, M.D., Ph.D.
Director, National Human Genome Research Institute
About the Artist
Mary Ellen Scherl earned a B.F.A. in Design and Advertising from Washington University in St. Louis. After a 17- year career as an Art Director at Leo Burnett Company and Young & Rubicam, Ms. Scherl pursued her passion for painting, sculpting, photography and writing.
Body image, cancer, genetics and our fragile democracy are her narratives. She exhibits widely in the U.S. and abroad and is in the permanent collection at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, the Contemporary Museum of Sculpture in Datong, China, the New York University Langone Medical Centers in New York City and Palm Beach, the Miami Military Museum in Miami, Florida and now the NIH in Bethesda, Maryland.
Ms. Scherl gained national recognition for creating her first social art project “Mamorial,” a nonprofit breast cancer initiative offering healing and awareness through art. Currently, she is working on her second project, “Defending Democracy,” painting portraits and developing a documentary series honoring U.S. military women.
She frequently lectures on her art and has taught a social art workshop at the Design and Architecture Senior High magnet school in Miami. Ms. Scherl has been featured in The New York Times, NBC Nightly News and other local and national media.
She served as President of the Sculptors Guild in New York, as a member of the Board of the International Sculpture Center, on the Executive Board of the Bakehouse Art Complex in Wynwood, Miami (where she is a resident artist) and as the current Veteran’s Chair of the Coral Gables chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
Last updated: May 14, 2024