Sheila Nirenberg

Sheila Nirenberg is an American neuroscientist. She works in the field of neural coding, developing new kinds of prosthetic devices that can communicate directly with the brain,[2] and new kinds of smart robots.[3] She is a recipient of a MacArthur “genius” award[4][5] and has been the subject of, or featured in, several documentaries for her technology for treating blindness.[6][7][8]

Sheila Nirenberg
Alma materSUNY Albany
Harvard University
AwardsMacArthur Award, Beckman Young Investigators Award,[1] TED Talk, NYC BioAccelerate Prize
Scientific career
FieldsNeuroscience
InstitutionsCornell University
Websitephysiology.med.cornell.edu/faculty/nirenberg/lab/
External video
”Sheila Nirenberg, Can we speak the language of the brain?”, TEDMED, 2011
“Sheila Nirenberg - Q&A”, TEDMED, 2011
”MacArthur Fellows Program, Sheila Nirenberg”, MacArthur Foundation, 2013

She is currently a professor at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University,[9] and the founder of two startup companies, Bionic Sight LLC (prosthetic devices)[10] and Nirenberg Neuroscience LLC (smart robots, AI).[11]

Early life and education

Nirenberg grew up in Westchester, United States. She attended the University of Albany where she gained a BA in psychology with a minor in English.[12][13] She then undertook a PhD at Harvard University where she worked with Constance Cepko. Nirenberg's project focused on developing a new technique to kill specific cell types in the retina in order to understand their function.[12]

Research career

Nirenberg stayed at Harvard University for her postdoctoral work before moving to the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where she was assistant professor for six years.[12]

References
  1. Guerrero, Russell (March 21, 2014). "Talking to the brain in its own language". Trinity University. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  2. Brumfiel, Geoff (13 August 2012). "Prosthetic retina helps to restore sight in mice". Nature. doi:10.1038/nature.2012.11164. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  3. "Sheila Nirenberg Going from scientist to entrepreneur: things that are useful to know". IEEE SMC 2017. October 6, 2017. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  4. Benson, Barbara. "New Yorker trying cure blindness wins 'genius' prize". crainsnewyork.com.
  5. Lee, Felicia R. (24 September 2013). "24 Recipients of MacArthur 'Genius' Awards Named". The New York Times.
  6. "The code that may treat blindness". BBC News. 12 November 2014.
  7. Grobart, Sam; Jeffries, Alan (5 April 2016). "This Bionic Eye Could Cure Blindness". Bloomberg.
  8. "Sight - The Story of Vision". storyofsight.com.
  9. "Nirenberg Lab Website". Cornell University.
  10. Mullin, Emily (February 15, 2017). "Companies Plan Tests of "Optogenetic Goggles" to Restore Sight". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  11. "Homepage". Nirenberg Neruoscience, LLC.
  12. Talan, Jamie (2013-11-07). "BEHIND THE BENCH: What MacArthur Awardee Sheila Nirenberg Is Doing to Help Blind People See". Neurology Today. 13 (21): 24. doi:10.1097/01.NT.0000438149.22688.f0. ISSN 1533-7006.
  13. "UAlbany Psychology Department Alumna Awarded Prestigious MacArthur Fellowship for Pioneering Work in Neuroscience - College of Arts & Sciences - University at Albany-SUNY". www.albany.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-22.



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