Ann E. Kelley facts for kids

Ann Elizabeth Kelley (1954–2007) was an American neuroscientist. She studied how our brains react to rewards and control our actions. She was a professor at the University of Wisconsin.

About Ann Elizabeth Kelley

Ann Elizabeth Kelley was born in Milton, Massachusetts. She became interested in brain science during a school trip to Harvard University.

She went to the University of Pennsylvania for her college studies. There, she was the captain for both the field hockey and lacrosse teams.

Her Studies and Early Career

After college, Ann received a special scholarship called a Thouron fellowship. This allowed her to study for her PhD at the University of Cambridge in England. Her supervisor was Susan Iversen.

In 1976, she was one of the first 13 women ever allowed to study at Trinity College, Cambridge. While at Cambridge, she continued to play lacrosse. She also joined the rowing team.

Later, she worked at Harvard Medical School with Walle Nauta. She also held research and teaching jobs in France and at other universities. These included the University of Bordeaux and Northeastern University.

Life at the University of Wisconsin

Ann Kelley eventually settled at the University of Wisconsin. In 2006, she was named a distinguished professor there. She also directed the Neuroscience Training Program.

In 2006, she received the Mika Salpeter Lifetime Achievement Award. This award came from the Society for Neuroscience. Ann Kelley passed away on August 5, 2007, at her home in Madison, Wisconsin. She was 53 years old.

Ann Kelley as an Athlete

Ann Kelley was a talented athlete. She was a key player for the women's lacrosse and field hockey teams at the University of Pennsylvania.

At Cambridge, she started a women's rowing team. She was the "stroke" for the team, meaning she set the pace. She also competed in rowing races called the May Bumps. Ann was also a very enthusiastic skier.

Ann Kelley was a mother to three children.

Her Research on Brains and Behavior

Ann Kelley's research focused on how our brains handle rewards. She studied how this affects our behavior. She was an expert in a special technique called intracerebral microinfusion. This method involves putting tiny amounts of substances directly into specific brain areas.

How Food Affects Our Brains

Later in her career, she studied eating behavior. She found that certain brain chemicals, called μ-opioids, affect how much we eat. This effect depended on how tasty the food was.

Her research also showed that food can act like an addictive substance. She found that eating salty and sweet foods affected the brain in a similar way to alcohol. This happened when a specific brain area, the nucleus accumbens, was involved.

Her Lasting Impact

Two years after her death, Ann Kelley received another award. It was the Patricia Goldman-Rakic Hall of Honor award. This was given by the Society for Neuroscience.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison created a special fellowship in her honor. It is called the Ann E. Kelley Fellowship in Behavioral Science. Her old university, the University of Pennsylvania, also started a scholarship in her name in 2007.

In 2013, a science journal called Neuroscience & Biobehavioral Reviews dedicated a whole issue to her work.