Abbott Receives Swartz Prize for Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience
SAN DIEGO — The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) awarded the Swartz Prize for Theoretical and Computational Neuroscience to Larry Abbott, PhD. Supported by The Swartz Foundation, this prize, which includes $25,000, recognizes an individual who has produced a significant cumulative contribution to theoretical models or computational methods in neuroscience. The award was presented during Neuroscience 2010, SfN’s annual meeting and the world’s largest source of emerging news on brain science and health.
“For more than 20 years, Dr. Abbott has made seminal contributions and has advanced the importance of theoretical work to the entire neuroscience field,” said Michael E. Goldberg, MD, president of SfN. “We are pleased to be recognizing this exceptional scientist and look forward to his continued success in the field.”
Abbott began his career as a theoretical physicist and transitioned into the emerging field of theoretical neuroscience in the late 1980s. Abbott’s role in the development of the dynamic clamp technique, along with his investigations into the firing patterns of cortical brain cells, have proven to be influential advances for understanding synaptic plasticity. He is currently embarking on speculative studies regarding signal propagation in the nervous system.
Dr. Abbott has worked tirelessly to bring mainstream attention to computational theories in neuroscience. He successfully established a Center for Theoretical Neurobiology first at Brandeis University and later at Columbia University. He is currently the Bloor Professor of Theoretical Neuroscience at Columbia University, serves on the editorial board of Neuron, and chairs the Mathematical Biology Committee for Wellcome Trust.
The Society for Neuroscience is an organization of more than 40,000 researchers and clinicians who study the brain and nervous system.
