Eve Marder facts for kids

Eve Marder is a famous scientist who studies the brain. She is a University Professor of Neuroscience at Brandeis University. Dr. Marder is known for her amazing work on tiny brain networks. Her team uses different ways to study how these networks work.

She is especially famous for studying the stomatogastric nervous system (STNS) in crustaceans, like lobsters. This system has only 30 special cells called neurons. Dr. Marder found that these brain circuits are not fixed. They can change how they work using special chemicals called neuromodulators. This means one circuit can create many different actions or behaviors.

Her discoveries changed how scientists study brain circuits. The ideas from her work are important for understanding other brain networks, even in humans. Dr. Marder has written many scientific papers and articles.

She has won many awards for her important work. These include the National Medal of Science in 2023 and the Kavli Prize in 2016. She also received the Pearl Meister Greengard Prize in 2023. In 2024, she joined the American Philosophical Society. She is also a member of the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences.

Eve Marder's Journey in Science

Eve Marder was born in New York City. She grew up on the east coast of the United States. From a young age, she loved biology. But when she started college at Brandeis University in 1965, she planned to study politics. She even thought about becoming a lawyer!

After her first year, she changed her mind. Biology captured her interest again. A big moment for her was writing a paper about schizophrenia for a psychology class. Her research into how brain signals work made her want to become a neuroscientist. This set her on her lifelong path in science.

Education and Early Discoveries

Dr. Marder earned her first degree from Brandeis University in 1969. Then, she went on to get her Ph.D. from the University of California, San Diego. It was during her time there that she found the special brain network she would study for years. This was the stomatogastric-ganglion system in lobsters.

Her Ph.D. work looked at how a chemical called acetylcholine affects this lobster brain system. Her findings were so important that she wrote a paper about it in the famous science journal Nature. After her Ph.D., she did more research at the University of Oregon and in Paris, France.

In 1978, Dr. Marder started her own research lab at Brandeis University. In 1990, she helped create one of the first college programs for studying the brain in the United States. As a research leader, she has guided many students and researchers.

Understanding Brain Circuits

Dr. Marder's work on the 30 neurons in the lobster's stomatogastric ganglion (STG) led to many discoveries. She found that these circuits can be changed by many different neuromodulators. These are like chemical messengers in the brain.

She also did important work on how the brain can change and adapt. This is called plasticity and homeostasis. Her research showed how the brain can change a lot when we learn or grow. Yet, it still stays stable in its basic structure.

Her recent work shows that different brain networks can still produce the same behavior. This means there isn't just one "perfect" way for a brain circuit to work. This led her to study how things like temperature affect brain circuits. She looks at this in the context of climate change and the lobster STNS.

How Brains Adapt and Change

One of Dr. Marder's first big ideas was about how brain circuits are set up by neuromodulators. When she started, many scientists thought neurons had fixed properties. They believed that if you drew a map of connections, you would immediately know how a circuit worked.

But Dr. Marder showed that special chemicals can change how parts of a circuit work. This changes the entire output of the circuit. Her lab also studied how a circuit can have many ways to solve a problem. They found that circuits can still work well even if their parts are a bit different.

In the 1990s, with scientist Larry Abbott, she helped create a method called the dynamic clamp. This allows scientists to add mathematical models of brain activity into real neurons. This helps them see how theoretical circuits would work. Eve has also shared free online tools. These tools, like "1.7 million model neurons," help people study how brain circuits function.

Brain Circuits and the Environment

Currently, Dr. Marder's lab is studying how climate change affects brain performance. They are looking at how temperature, pH, and salt levels impact individual differences in circuits. Her group found "hidden" changes in circuits based on an animal's past temperature. These changes only show up when the system faces an environmental challenge.

Dr. Marder has also helped the field of neuroscience in many ways. She has been part of many important groups and committees. A notable role was her involvement in the BRAIN Initiative in 2013. She continues to be an advisor for this important project today.

A book about Dr. Marder's life was published in 2018. It is called "Lessons from the Lobster: Eve Marder's Work in Neuroscience". The book talks about her early life, her scientific discoveries, and the lessons she learned.

Awards and Honors

Dr. Eve Marder has received many important awards for her contributions to science:

• Elected to the American Philosophical Society (2024)
• National Medal of Science (2023)
• Pearl Meister Greengard Prize, Rockefeller University (2023)
• Landis Mentoring Award, NINDS (2023)
• Honorary Doctorate from University of Liège (2023)
• Honorary Doctorate from Princeton University (2022)
• National Academy of Science Award in the Neurosciences (2019)
• Honorary Doctorate from Tel Aviv University (2017)
• Kavli Prize in Neuroscience (2016)
• Gruber Neuroscience Prize (2013)
• Member, Institute of Medicine (2013)
• George A. Miller Prize, Cognitive Neuroscience Society (2012)
• Karl Spenser Lashley Prize, American Philosophical Society (2012)
• Honorary Doctor of Science, Bowdoin College (2010)
• Fellow, Biophysical Society (2008)
• President, Society for Neuroscience (2008)
• Member, National Academy of Sciences (2007)
• President-Elect, Society for Neuroscience (2006–2007)
• Gerard Prize, Society for Neuroscience (2005)
• Trustee of the Grass Foundation (2002–2005)
• Women in Neuroscience Mika Salpeter Lifetime Achievement Award (2002–2003)
• American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2001–2001)
• MERIT (Method to Extend Research in Time) Award, National Institutes of Health (1995–2000)
• McKnight Endowment fund for Neuroscience Investigator Award (1994)
• Jacob Javits Neuroscience Investigator Award, National Advisory Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke Council (1987–1994)