Kreitzer and Frank Receive $15,000 Young Investigator Award
11/12/2011
For immediate release.
KREITZER AND FRANK RECEIVE $15,000 YOUNG INVESTIGATOR AWARD
Recognizes the achievements of outstanding young neuroscientists
Washington — The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) presented the Young Investigator Award to Anatol C. Kreitzer, PhD, and Loren M. Frank, PhD, during Neuroscience 2011, SfN’s annual meeting and the world’s largest source of emerging news about brain science and health. Established in 1983 and supported by AstraZeneca, the award includes $15,000 and recognizes the achievements of neuroscientists who have received an advanced degree in the past 10 years.
“One of the Society's most important objectives is providing support and recognition for talented young neuroscientists,” said Susan G. Amara, PhD, president of SfN. “Dr. Kreitzer and Dr. Frank have demonstrated their deep commitment to the field and have given us exciting new insights into the neural circuitry of the brain.”
Kreitzer’s research has been instrumental in providing a better understanding of circuitry in the basal ganglia and its role in brain disorders. His interest in the effects of endocannabinoids in synaptic modulation resulted in new insights into Parkinson’s disease. Kreitzer also developed elegant analysis techniques that combine in vitro and in vivo approaches to study the influence of different basal ganglia circuits on motor behavior.
Kreitzer completed his doctoral studies at Harvard University and is an assistant investigator at J. David Gladstone Institutes, and an assistant professor at the University of California, San Francisco.
Frank’s postdoctoral work focused on the development and application of novel analysis methods for examining neuronal plasticity in the hippocampus of behaving rodents. His research on nerve cells in the hippocampus and surrounding cortex during learning tasks has provided insight into neuronal change during new experiences. Frank has also found that neurons “replay” recent memories during waking states, not just during sleep, which has important implications for memory transfer and storage.
Frank earned his doctoral degree at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is an associate professor at the University of California, San Francisco.
The Society for Neuroscience is an organization of more than 41,000 researchers and clinicians who study the brain and nervous system.
