Ruth Herbst joined the Center for Brain Research in 2002 with the support of an Erwin Schrödinger Return Fellowship from the FWF.

Her independent research group, initially affiliated with the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, was transformed into the Section of Synapse Formation in 2008. Research within the Section focuses on the neuromuscular synapse with particular interest in the molecular mechanisms involved during synapse formation and maintenance.