AWARD RECIPIENTS

Technology Awards

Brain Disorders Awards

Discontinued Programs

ANNUAL CONFERENCE

Scholar Awards

Jeremy Dasen, Ph.D., New York University School of Medicine
Mechanisms of Synaptic Specificity in the Vertebrate Spinal Cord

Wesley Grueber, Ph.D., Columbia University
Dendritic Field Patterning by Attractive and Repulsive Cues

Greg Horwitz, Ph.D., University of Washington
Magnocellular Contributions to Color Processing

Coleen Murphy, Ph.D., Princeton University
Molecular Characterization of Long-Term Memory Maintenance with Age

Bence Olveczky, Ph.D., Harvard University
Functional Organization of Neural Circuits Underlying Sensorimotor Learning

Liam Paninski, Ph.D., Columbia University
Using Advanced Statistical Techniques to Decipher Population Codes

Bijan Pesaran, Ph.D., New York University
Deciding Where to Look and Where to Reach

Stephen A. Baccus, Ph.D., Stanford University Medical School
Functional Circuitry of Neural Coding in the Retina

Karl A. Deisseroth, M.D., Ph.D., Stanford University Medical School
Multi-Channel Fast Optical Interrogation of Living Neural Circuitry

Gilbert Di Paolo, Ph.D., Columbia University
A Novel Approach for Rapid Chemically-Induced Modulation of PIP2 Metabolism at the Synapse

Adrienne Fairhall, Ph.D., University of Washington
Intrinsic Contributions to Adaptive Computation and Gain Control

Maurice A. Smith, M.D., Ph.D., Harvard University
A Computational Model of Interacting Adaptive Processes to Explain Properties of Short- and Long-term Motor Learning

Fan Wang, Ph.D., Duke University Medical Center
Molecular and Genetic Analyses of Mammalian Touch Sensation

Rachel Wilson, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School
The Biophysical and Molecular Basis of Central Synaptic Transmission in Drosophila

Thomas Clandinin, Ph.D., Stanford University Medical School
How are Salient Visual Cues Captured by Changes in Neuronal Activity?

James DiCarlo, M.D., Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Neuronal Mechanisms Underlying Object Recognition During Natural Viewing

Florian Engert, Ph.D., Harvard University
The Neuronal Basis of Visually Induced Behavior in the Larval Zebrafish

Youxing Jiang, Ph.D., University of Texas, Southwestern Medical Center
Molecular Mechanisms of Ion Selectivity in CNG Channels

Tirin Moore, Ph.D., Stanford University Medical School
Mechanisms of Visuospatial Attention and Working Memory

Hongjun Song, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Mechanisms Regulating Synaptic Integration of Newly Generated Neurons in the Adult Brain

Elke Stein, Ph.D., Yale University
Converting Netrin-1-Mediated Attraction to Repulsion through Intracellular Crosstalk

2005-2007

Athanossios Siapas, Ph.D., California Institute of Technology
Cortico-Hippocampal Interactions and Memory Formation

Nirao Shah, M.D., Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco
Representation of Sexually Dimorphic Behaviors in the Brain

Aravinthan Samuel, Ph.D., Harvard University
A Biophysical Approach to Worm Behavioral Neuroscience

Bernardo Sabatini, M.D., Ph.D., Harvard Medical School
Synaptic Regulation by Neuromodulatory Systems

Miriam Goodman, Ph.D., Stanford University
Understanding the Force-Sensing Machinery of Touch Receptor Neurons

Matteo Carandini, Ph.D., The Smith-Kettlewell Eye Research Institute
Dynamics of Population Response in Visual Cortex

Ricardo Dolmetsch, Ph.D., Stanford University
Functional Analysis of the Calcium Channel Proteome

Loren Frank, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco
The Neural Correlates of Learning in the Hippocampal - Cortical Circuit

Rachelle Gaudet, Ph.D., Harvard University
Structural Studies of Temperature-sensing TRP Ion Channels

Z. Josh Huang, Ph.D., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Subcellular Targeting of GABAergic Synapses

Kang Shen, M.D., Ph.D., Stanford University
Understanding the Molecular Code for Target Specificity in Synapse Formation

David Zenisek, Ph.D., Yale University
Investigation of the Role of the Synaptic Ribbon in Exocytosis

Michael Brainard, Ph.D. University of California, San Francisco
Behavioral and Neural Mechanisms of Plasticity in Adult Birdsong

Joshua Gold, Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
The Neural Basis of Decisions that Flexibly Link Sensation and Action

Jacqueline Gottlieb, Ph.D. Columbia University
Neural Substrates of Vision and Attention in Monkey Posterior Parietal Cortex

Zhigang He, Ph.D. Children's Hospital
Exploring the Mechanisms of Axon Regeneration Failure in the Adult Control Nervous System

Kristin Scott, Ph.D. University of California, Berkeley
Taste Representations in the Drosophila Brain

Aaron DiAntonio, M.D., Ph.D., Washington University
Genetic Analysis of Synaptic Growth

Marla Feller, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego
Homeostatic Regulation of Spontaneous Activity in the Developing Mammalian Retina

Bharathi Jagadeesh, Ph.D., University of Washington
Plasticity of Object and Scene Selective Neurons in the Primate Inferotemporal Cortex

Bingwei Lu, Ph.D., The Rockefeller University
A Genetic Approach to Neural Stem Cell Behavior

Philip Sabes, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco
The Neural Mechanisms and Computational Principles of Visuomotor Adaptation in Reaching

W. Martin Usrey, Ph.D., University of California, Davis
Functional Dynamics of Feedforward and Feedback Pathways for Vision

Daniel Feldman, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego
Synaptic Basis for Whisker Map Plasticity in Rat Barrel Cortex

Kelsey Martin, M.D., Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
Communication Between the Synapse and the Nucleus During Long-lasting Synaptic Plasticity

Daniel Minor, Jr., Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco
High-resolution Studies of Ion Channel Regulation

John Reynolds, Ph.D., The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Neural Mechanisms of Visual Feature Integration

Leslie Vosshall, Ph.D., The Rockefeller University
The Molecular Biology of Odor Recognition in Drosophila

Anthony Wagner, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mechanisms of Memory Formation: Prefrontal Contributions to Episodic Encoding

John Assad, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School
Long- and Short-term Memory Effects on the Encoding of Visual Motion in Parietal Cortex

Eduardo Chichilnisky, Ph.D., The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Color and Motion Perception: Ensemble Signaling by Identified Cell Types in Primate Retina

Frank Gertler, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Role of Cytoskeletal Regulatory Proteins in Axon Outgrowth and Guidance

Jeffry Isaacson, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego
Synaptic Mechanisms of Central Olfactory Circuits

Richard Krauzlis, Ph.D., The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Coordination of Voluntary Eye Movements by the Superior Colliculus

H. Sebastian Seung, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Memory and Multistability in Biological Networks

Jian Yang, Ph.D., Columbia University
Potassium Channel Permeation and Gating Studied with Novel Backbone Mutations

Michael Ehlers, M.D., Ph.D., Duke University Medical Center
Molecular Regulation of NMDA Receptors

Jennifer Raymond, Ph.D., Stanford University School of Medicine
In Vivo Physiological Analysis of Mutations that Affect Cerebellum-dependent Learning

Fred Rieke, Ph.D., University of Washington
Gain Control and Feature Selectivity of Retinal Ganglion Cells

Henk Roelink, Ph.D., University of Washington
Sonic Hedgehog Signal Transduction in Brain Malformations Induced by Cyclopamine

Alexander Schier, Ph.D., New York University School of Medicine
Mechanisms of Forebrain Patterning

Paul Slesinger, Ph.D., The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Identification of Molecular Interactions Involved in the G Protein Regulation of Potassium Channels

Michael Weliky, Ph.D., University of Rochester
The Role of Correlated Neuronal Activity in Visual Cortical Development

Paul Garrity, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Axon Targeting in the Drosophila Visual System

Jennifer Groh, Ph.D., Dartmouth College
Neural Coordinate Transformations

Phyllis Hanson, M.D., Ph.D., Washington University School of Medicine
The Role of Molecular Chaperones in Presynaptic Function

Eduardo Perozo, Ph.D., University of Virginia School of Medicine
High-resolution Structural Studies of the K+ Channel Pore

Wendy Suzuki, Ph.D., New York University
Spatial Functions of the Macaque Parahippocampal Cortex

Ulrike I. Gaul, Ph.D., The Rockefeller University
Cellular and Molecular Aspects of Axon Guidance in a Simple in Vivo System

Liqun Luo, Ph.D., Stanford University School of Medicine
Molecular Mechanisms of Dendrite Development: Studies of GTPases Rac and Cdc42

Mark Mayford, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego
Regulated Genetic Control of Synaptic Plasticity, Learning, and Memory

Peter Mombaerts, M.D., Ph.D., The Rockefeller University
Mechanisms of Axon Guidance in the Olfactory System

Samuel L. Pfaff, Ph.D., The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Molecular Control of Vertebrate Motor Neuron Axon Targeting

David Van Vactor, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School
Analysis of Genes that Control Motor Axon Guidance in Drosophila

Paul W. Glimcher, Ph.D., New York University
Neurobiological Basis of Selective Attention

Ali Hemmati-Brivanlou, Ph.D., The Rockefeller University
Molecular Aspects of Vertebrate Neurogenesis

Donald C. Lo, Ph.D., Duke University Medical Center
Neurotrophin Regulation of Synaptic Plasticity

Earl K. Miller, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Integrated Functions of Prefrontal Cortex

Tito A. Serafini, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
Isolation and Characterization of Growth Cone Targeting Molecules

Jerry C.P. Yin, Ph.D., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
CREB Phosphorylation and the Formation of Long-term Memory in Drosophila

Toshinori Hoshi, Ph.D., University of Iowa
Gating Mechanisms of Voltage-dependent Potassium Channels

Alex L. Kolodkin, Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Molecular Mechanisms of Growth Cone Guidance: Semaphorin Function During Neurodevelopment

Michael L. Nonet, Ph.D., Washington University School of Medicine
Genetic Analysis of Neuromuscular Junction Development

Mani Ramaswami, Ph.D., University of Arizona
Genetic Analysis of Presynaptic Mechanisms

Michael N. Shadlen, M.D., Ph.D., University of Washington
Sensory Integration and Working Memory

Alcino J. Silva, Ph.D., Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Cellular Mechanisms Supporting Memory Formation in Mice

Rita J. Balice-Gordon, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania
Activity Dependent and Independent Mechanisms Underlying Synapse Formation and Maintenance

Mark K. Bennett, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
Regulation of the Synaptic Vesicle Docking and Fusion Machinery by Protein Phosphorylation

David S. Bredt, M.D., Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco
Physiologic Functions of Nitric Oxide in Developing and Regenerating Neurons

David J. Linden, Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Cellular Substrates of Information Storage in the Cerebellum

Richard D. Mooney, Ph.D., Duke University Medical Center
Cellular Mechanisms of Avian Vocal Learning and Memory

Charles J. Weitz, M.D., Ph.D., Harvard Medical School
Molecular Biology of the Mammalian Circadian Pacemaker

Ben Barres, M.D., Ph.D., Stanford University School of Medicine
Development and Function of Glia

Allison J. Doupe, M.D., Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco
A Neural Circuit Specialized for Vocal Learning in Songbirds

Ehud Y. Isacoff, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
Molecular Studies on K+ Channel Phosphorylation in Vertebrate Central Neurons

Susan K. McConnell, Ph.D., Stanford University School of Medicine
Isolation of Layer-specific Genes from Mammalian Cerebral Cortex

John J. Ngai, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
Analysis of the Topography of Specific Olfactory Neurons and the Coding of Olfactory Information

Wade G. Regehr, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School
The Role of Presynaptic Calcium in Plasticity at Central Synapses

Ethan Bier, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego
Molecular Genetics of Neurogenesis

Linda D. Buck, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School
Neuronal Identity and Information Coding in the Mammalian Olfactory System

Gian Garriga, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
Cell Interactions in the Outgrowth of the C.elegans HSN Axons

Roderick MacKinnon, M.D., Harvard Medical School
Subunit Interactions in Potassium Channel Gating

Nipam H. Patel, Ph.D., Carnegie Institution of Washington
The Role of Gooseberry During Drosophila Neurogenesis

Gabriele V. Ronnett, M.D., Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
The Mechanisms of Olfactory Signal Transduction

Daniel Y. Ts'o, Ph.D., The Rockefeller University
Optical Imaging of Neuronal Mechanisms of Visual Behavior

Hollis T. Cline, Ph.D., University of Iowa Medical School
Regulation of Neuronal Growth by Neurotransmitter and Protein Kinases

Gilles J. Laurent, Ph.D., California Institute of Technology
Compartmentalization of Local Neurons in Insect Sensory-motor Networks

Ernest G. Peralta, Ph.D., Harvard University
Muscarinic Acetylcholine Receptor Signaling Pathways in Neuronal Cells

William M. Roberts, Ph.D., University of Oregon
Ion Channels and Intracellular Calcium in Hair Cells

Thomas L. Schwarz, Ph.D., Stanford University School of Medicine
The Genetics of VAMP and p65: A Dissection of Transmitter Release in Drosophila

Marc T. Tessier-Lavigne, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco
Purification, Cloning, and Characterization of a Chemoattractant that Guides Developing Axons in the Vertebrate Central Nervous System

John R. Carlson, Ph.D., Yale University School of Medicine
Molecular Organization of the Drosophila Olfactory System

Michael E. Greenberg, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School
Electrical Stimulation of Gene Expression in Neurons

David J. Julius, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco
Molecular Genetics of Serotonin Receptor Function

Robert C. Malenka, M.D., Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco
Mechanisms Underlying Long-term Potentiation in the Hippocampus

John D. Sweatt, Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine
Molecular Mechanisms for LTP in the CA1 Region of Rat Hippocampus

Kai Zinn, Ph.D., California Institute of Technology
Molecular Genetics of Axon Guidance in the Drosophila Embryo

Utpal Banerjee, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
Neurogenetics of R7 Cell Development in Drosophila

Paul Forscher, Ph.D., Yale University School of Medicine
Signal Transduction at the Neuronal Membrane-cytoskeletal Interface

Michael D. Mauk, Ph.D., University of Texas Medical School
The Role of Protein Kinases in Synaptic Transmission and Plasticity

Eric J. Nestler, M.D., Ph.D., Yale University School of Medicine
Molecular Characterization of the Locus Coeruleus

Barbara E. Ranscht, Ph.D., La Jolla Cancer Research Foundation
Molecular Analysis of Chick Cell Surface Glycoproteins and Their Role in Nerve Fiber Growth

Michael Bastiani, Ph.D., University of Utah
Watching Growth Cones Make Choices in the Face of Adversity

Craig E. Jahr, Ph.D., Oregon Health & Science University
Molecular Mechanisms of Excitatory Synaptic Transmission

Christopher R. Kintner, Ph.D., The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Molecular Basis of Neural Induction in Amphibian Embryos

Jonathan A. Raper, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania Medical Center
Indentification of Molecules Involved in the Control of Growth Cone Motility

Lorna W. Role, Ph.D., Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Modulation of Neuronal Acetylcholine Receptors

Charles Zuker, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego
Signal Transduction in the Visual System

Aaron P. Fox, Ph.D., University of Chicago
Hippocampal Calcium Channels: Biophysical, Pharmacological, and Functional Properties

F. Rob Jackson, Ph.D., Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology
Molecular Basis of Endogenous Timing Mechanisms

Dennis D.M. O'Leary, Ph.D., Washington University School of Medicine
Studies of Neocortical Development Focused on Areal Differentiation

Tim Tully, Ph.D., Brandeis University
Molecular Cloning of the Drosophila Short-term Memory Mutant Amnesiac and a Search for Long-term Memory Mutants

Patricia A. Walicke, M.D., Ph.D., University of California, San Diego
Hippocampal Neurons and Fibroblast Growth Factor

Christine E. Holt, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego
Axonal Pathfinding in the Vertebrate Embryo

Stephen J. Peroutka, M.D., Ph.D., Stanford University School of Medicine
Novel Anxiolytic Interactions with Central Serotonin Receptor Subtypes

Randall N. Pittman, Ph.D., University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
Biochemical, Immunological, and Video Analysis of Neurite Outgrowth

S. Lawrence Zipursky, Ph.D., University of California, Los Angeles
A Molecular Genetic Approach to Neural Connectivity

Sarah W. Bottjer, Ph.D., University of Southern California
Neuronal Mechanisms of Vocal Development

S. Marc Breedlove, Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley
Andogenic Influences on the Specificity of Neural Connections

Jane Dodd, Ph.D., Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Cellular Mechanisms of Sensory Transduction in Cutaneous Afferent Neurons

Haig S. Keshishian, Ph.D., Yale University School of Medicine
Determination and Differentiation of Identified Peptidergic Neurons in the Embryonic CNS

Paul E. Sawchenko, Ph.D., The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Steroid-dependent Plasticity in the Neuropeptide Expression

Ronald L. Davis, Ph.D., Baylor College of Medicine
Cyclic AMP System Genes and Memory in Drosophila

Scott E. Fraser, Ph.D., University of California, Irvine
Theoretical and Experimental Studies on Nerve Patterning and Synaptic Competition

Michael R. Lerner, M.D., Ph.D., Yale University School of Medicine
Memory and Olfaction

William D. Matthew, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School
An Immunological and Biochemical Analysis of Proteoglycans in the Nervous System

Jonathan D. Victor, M.D., Ph.D., Cornell University Medical College
An Evoked-response Analysis of Central Visual Processing in Health and Disease

Richard A. Andersen, Ph.D., The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Visual-spatial Properties of the Light-sensitive Neurons of the Posterior Parietal Cortex in Monkeys

Clifford B. Saper, M.D., Ph.D., Washington University School of Medicine
Organization of Cortical Arousal Systems

Richard H. Scheller, Ph.D., Stanford University School of Medicine
Investigations of the Function, Organization, and Regulated Expression of Neuropeptide Genes in Aplysia

Mark Allen Tanouye, Ph.D., California Institute of Technology
The Molecular Biology of Potassium Channel Genes in Drosophila

George R. Uhl, M.D., Ph.D., Massachusetts General Hospital
Memory-related Neurotransmitter Systems: Clinicopathological Correlation and Regulation of Specific Gene Expression

Bradley E. Alger, Ph.D., University of Maryland School of Medicine
Depression of Inhibition May Contribute to Potentiation in the Studies in the Rat Hippocampal Slice

Ralph J. Greenspan, Ph.D., Princeton University
Genetic and Immunological Studies of Cell Surface Molecules and Their Role in Neuronal Development in the Mouse

Thomas M. Jessell, Ph.D., Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
The Role of Neuropeptides in Sensory Transmission and Nociception

Bruce H. Wainer, M.D., Ph.D., University of Chicago
Cortical Cholinergic Innervation in Health and Disease

Peter J. Whitehouse, M.D., Ph.D., The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
The Anatomical/Pathological Basis of the Memory Deficits in Dementia

David G. Amaral, Ph.D., The Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Studies of the Development and Connectivity of the Hippocampal

Robert J. Bloch, Ph.D., University of Maryland School of Medicine
Macromolecules Involved in Synapse Formation

Stanley M. Goldin, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School
Reconstitution, Purification, and Immunocytochemical Localization of Neuronal Ion Transport Proteins of Mammalian Brain

Stephen G. Lisberger, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco
Plasticity of the Primate Vestibulo-ocular Reflex

Lee L. Rubin, Ph.D., The Rockefeller University
Regulatory Mechanisms in Nerve-Muscle Synapse Formation

Theodore W. Berger, Ph.D., University of Pittsburgh
Brain Structures Involved in Human Amnesia: Study of the Hippocampal-Subicular-Cingulate Cortical System

Thomas H. Brown, Ph.D., City of Hope Research Institute
Quantal Analysis of Synaptic Potentiation in Hippocampal Neurons

Steven J. Burden, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School
The Synaptic Basal Lamina at Developing and Regenerating Neuromuscular Synapses

Corey S. Goodman, Ph.D., Stanford University School of Medicine
The Differentiation, Modification, and Death of Single Cells During Neuronal Development

William A. Harris, Ph.D., University of California, San Diego
Axonal Guidance and Impulse Activity in Development

Robert P. Elde, Ph.D., University of Minnesota Medical School
Immunohistochemical Studies of Limbic, Forebrain, and Hypothalmic Peptidergic Pathways

Yuh-Nung Jan, Ph.D., Harvard Medical School
Studies on Slow Potential Using Autonomic Ganglia as Model Systems

Eve Marder, Ph.D., Brandeis University
Neurotransmitter Mechanisms of Electrically Coupled Cells in a Simple System

James A. Nathanson, M.D., Ph.D., Yale University School of Medicine
Hormone Receptor Mechanisms in the Regulation of Cerebral Blood Flow and Cerebrospinal Fluid Circulation

Louis F. Reichardt, Ph.D., University of California, San Francisco
Genetic Investigations of Nerve Function in Culture

Linda M. Hall, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Role of Cholinergic Synapses in Learning and Memory

Charles A. Marotta, M.D., Ph.D., Harvard Medical School
Control of Brain Tubulin Synthesis During Development

Urs S. Rutishauser, Ph.D., The Rockefeller University
The Role of Cell-Cell Adhesion in Development of Neural Tissues

David C. Spray, Ph.D., Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Neural Control of Feeding in Navanax