Award for Education in Neuroscience Presented to Sharon Juliano and Osvaldo Uchitel
For immediate release.
AWARD FOR EDUCATION IN NEUROSCIENCE PRESENTED TO SHARON JULIANO AND OSVALDO UCHITEL
NEW ORLEANS — The Society for Neuroscience (SfN) has presented the Award for Education in Neuroscience to Sharon L. Juliano, PhD, of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Maryland, and Osvaldo D. Uchitel, MD, PhD, of Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (Institute of Physiology, Molecular Biology and Neurosciences) in Argentina. The prize, which includes $5,000, recognizes individuals with a distinguished career who have made outstanding contributions to neuroscience research and education. The award was presented during Neuroscience 2012, SfN’s annual meeting and the world’s largest source of emerging news about brain science and health.
“Dr. Juliano and Dr. Uchitel are exceptional advocates for neuroscience education and training of students worldwide,” said Moses V. Chao, PhD, president of SfN. “We are honored to recognize their commitment to attracting the world’s best and brightest to the field of neuroscience.”
Juliano has played a vital role in promoting neuroscience education and training in the global community through her active involvement in the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) and organization of workshops and courses in Latin America, Eastern Europe, and Africa. In 2008, her efforts to promote international neuroscience education led her to organize the first Teaching Tools Workshop in Africa — a program that equips junior faculty members with tools and a framework for teaching neuroscience in African countries — which took place in Senegal. Since then, the program has reached educators in Egypt, Kenya, Ghana, and South Africa. She also leads efforts to educate students in developing countries about ethical issues in research and acquire used laboratory equipment to donate to researchers in developing countries.
In addition to her efforts abroad, Dr. Juliano has mentored more than 25 interns, graduate students, and post-doctoral fellows in the United States. She has been honored with several awards, including the Flexner Award for Outstanding Research (Institute for Neurological Sciences) and the Distinguished Service Medal. Her research focuses on the development of the cerebral cortex, and she is currently a professor of anatomy, cell biology, and genetics at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Maryland.
Uchitel has worked tirelessly to foster neuroscience education in Latin America over the past three decades. He has played an active role in attracting young Latin American students to the sciences by leading undergraduate and graduate neuroscience courses. Additionally, he has organized scientific meetings with the broad participation of the Argentinian and Latin American communities. He is also credited with bringing state-of-the-art technology to Argentina, including techniques to record neuronal activity in brain slices. Recently, Uchitel led SfN’s Ricardo Miledi Training Program, a program aimed at enhancing the training and career development of promising neuroscience trainees from Latin America and the Caribbean countries through hands-on training.
Dr. Uchitel has mentored numerous undergraduate and graduate students, many of whom have successfully built their own research labs in Argentina and around the world. In recognition for his contribution to research and education in neuroscience, Uchitel received the Bernardo Houssay Award from the Argentinean Secretary of Education in 2006. His research focuses on synaptic transmission in health and disease, and he is currently the director of the scientific institute Instituto de Fisiología, Biología Molecular y Neurociencias (Institute of Physiology, Molecular Biology and Neurosciences) in Argentina.
The Society for Neuroscience is an organization of more than 42,000 basic scientists and clinicians who study the brain and nervous system.
