Jentsch Receives Jacob P. Waletzky Award
For immediate release.
JENTSCH RECEIVES JACOB P. WALETZKY AWARD
Washington — The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) presented J. David Jentsch, PhD, with the Jacob P. Waletzky Award at Neuroscience 2011, SfN’s annual meeting and the world’s largest source of emerging news about brain science and health. Established in 2003 and supported by the Waletzky family, the award includes $25,000 and is given to a scientist who has conducted research or plans to conduct research in the area of substance abuse and the brain and nervous system.
“SfN is pleased to recognize Dr. Jentsch’s outstanding work,” said Susan G. Amara, PhD, president of SfN. “His research on addiction and behavior has provided exciting new insights into the dysfunction of impulse control systems in substance abuse.”
Jentsch has made significant contributions to drug abuse research with his work on the dopaminergic systems. His early work provided important insight on the influence of dopamine on the frontal cortex. In particular, Jentsch showed cognitive loss is a key feature of addiction. His recent efforts focus on the genetic basis of impulsive behavior and inhibitory control.
Jentsch earned his PhD from Yale University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh. He is currently a professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, and the associate director of the Brain Research Institute.
The Society for Neuroscience is an organization of more than 41,000 researchers and clinicians who study the brain and nervous system.
