Anne Churchland facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Anne Churchland
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Churchland speaks to the Wellcome Trust in 2024
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| Nationality | Canadian, American |
| Education | B.A., Wellesley College; PhD, UCSF |
| Known for | Neural circuits underlying perceptual decision making and multisensory integration |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Neuroscience |
| Institutions | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Thesis | Representations of eye and image velocity in motion sensitive cortex (2003) |
| Doctoral advisor | Stephen Lisberger |
| Other academic advisors | Michael Shadlen |
Anne K. Churchland is a neuroscientist who studies the brain. She works at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her lab explores how a part of the brain, called the posterior parietal cortex, helps us make choices and combine information from different senses.
One cool thing she found is that single brain cells in rodents can do many jobs at once. She also discovered that rodents can combine information from their senses, like sight and sound, much like humans do.
Dr. Churchland believes that studying rodents can help us understand how our brains work. She has helped create new ways to study how animals behave. These methods were once only used with monkeys.
She also helped start the International Brain Laboratory. This is a big group of scientists from around the world. She also advises the Allen Institute for Brain Science.
Dr. Churchland created Anneslist. This website helps make sure that women scientists are included in important science meetings.
Contents
Early Life and Family
Anne Churchland grew up in a family of thinkers. Her mother, Patricia Churchland, and father, Paul Churchland, are both philosophers. Her brother, Mark Churchland, is also a neuroscientist. He studies the brain at Columbia University.
Education Journey
Dr. Churchland went to Wellesley College for her first degree. She studied how thinking skills develop. She earned degrees in both mathematics and psychology.
In 2003, she earned her Ph.D. in neuroscience. This advanced degree in brain science was from the University of California, San Francisco. Her research focused on how a part of the brain in monkeys processes what they see moving.
After her Ph.D., she continued her research. From 2004 to 2010, she worked at the University of Washington. She studied how monkeys make decisions based on what they sense.
Brain Research
From 2010 to 2020, Dr. Churchland led her own research team. This was at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.
In May 2020, she moved to the University of California, Los Angeles. She is now a professor there. She holds a special position for brain research.
Dr. Churchland has studied why people fidget. She looked at how movement might help us think. Her research suggests that fidgeting could be a way we start and continue thinking. This work might help us understand why people with ADHD sometimes need to move more to focus.
Her lab also studies how the brain makes decisions. They focus on how the brain combines information from different senses. They watch how rodents make choices based on what they see and hear. They also use math to understand how groups of brain cells work together.
Supporting Women in Science
Dr. Churchland is also known for helping women in neuroscience. She created anneslist. This is a list of women scientists who work in brain systems and computing. She started it to help find women who could speak at science events.
In 2017, the Society for Neuroscience recognized her work. She received an award for promoting women in neuroscience. This award was for her efforts outside of her research.
Selected Awards
- McKnight Scholar Award (2012)
- Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences by The Pew Charitable Trusts (2014)
- Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship in the Neurosciences from the Simons Foundation and the Esther A. and Joseph Klingenstein Fund (2014)
- The Louise Hanson Marshall Special Recognition Award from the Society of Neuroscience (2017)
