Elly Nedivi facts for kids

Elly Nedivi is an American brain scientist, also known as a neuroscientist. She teaches at a famous university called the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She works at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, where she studies how our brains learn and remember things.

Her Early Life and Studies

Elly Nedivi studied biology and biochemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in Israel. Later, she earned her PhD in neuroscience from Stanford University in the United States. A PhD is a very high degree that shows she is an expert in brain science.

Her Work and Discoveries

When Dr. Nedivi started working at MIT, she received a special award in 1999. This award helps young scientists do important research.

How Brains Change and Grow

In 2000, Dr. Nedivi and her team found tiny parts in adult brains that help the brain grow and change. This ability of the brain to change is called brain plasticity.

Later, she and other scientists found a specific gene. This gene helps keep the brain's ability to change in balance. Her research suggests that scientists might be able to change genes to help people learn faster.

She also found that a gene called cpg15 is very important. It helps brain stem cells survive when a brain is first developing. Brain stem cells are like blank cells that can turn into different types of brain cells.

New Cells for Damaged Brains

Dr. Nedivi also studied if it's possible to grow new brain cells. This could help replace cells damaged by diseases or spinal cord injuries.

In 2008, her team found a type of brain cell that grows in a specific part of the brain. These cells are linked to Autism spectrum disorders. This discovery could help scientists find ways to make brain cells repair themselves, even if they normally can't.

Important Proteins and Brain Health

In 2016, Dr. Nedivi was chosen as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. This is a big honor for scientists.

That same year, she found that a protein called CPG2 helps control how brain cells connect with each other. These connections are called receptors.

Three years later, she made another important discovery. She found that people with less CPG2 protein were more likely to have bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is a condition that affects a person's mood.

In November 2019, Dr. Nedivi was given a special title at MIT. She became the first William R. and Linda R. Young Professor.