Kafui Dzirasa facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kafui Dzirasa
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Kafui Dzirasa delivering a 2019 National Institutes of Health lecture
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| Alma mater | University of Maryland, Baltimore County Duke University |
| Awards | PECASE (2016) Benjamin Franklin NextGen Award (2022) |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Duke University |
Kafui Dzirasa, born in 1978, is an American doctor who specializes in the brain. He is a professor at Duke University. Dr. Dzirasa studies how brain circuits work. He also researches how problems with these circuits can cause mental illness. He wants to find new ways to help people with these conditions. In 2021, he was chosen as a Fellow of the National Academy of Medicine.
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Growing Up and Learning
Kafui Dzirasa's parents, Abigail and Samuel, came to the United States from Accra, Ghana, in 1971. His mother was a nurse and his father was an engineer. Kafui grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland.
When he was in college, he met a brain scientist he admired. This inspired him to study the brain. He attended the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). There, he earned a special scholarship. He first studied chemistry, then switched to chemical engineering. He graduated with his bachelor's degree in 2001.
Dr. Dzirasa then went to Duke University. He planned to study biological engineering. But after visiting a hospital ward for people with schizophrenia, he decided to focus on medicine. He earned his PhD in neurobiology in 2007. He was the first Black student to get a neurobiology doctorate from Duke. He then finished his medical degree (MD) in 2009.
He was inspired to focus on mental health because family members had bipolar disorder. He completed his training in psychiatry in 2016.
What Dr. Dzirasa Does
Dr. Dzirasa is very interested in how the brain's electrical signals affect our feelings. He wants to use special electrical tools to treat mental illnesses. He studies how tiny electrical changes happen in the brain.
He created a special way to record brain activity. This method helps him study how different brain parts work together. He uses computer programs to find patterns in brain activity. These patterns can even help predict conditions like depression.
His research has shown how brain patterns affect how mice handle stress. Mice that were more sensitive to stress had more activity in a brain area called the prefrontal cortex. This helps us understand how stress affects the brain.
Dr. Dzirasa's work was even shown on CBS in 2011. He is now an Associate Professor at Duke University. In 2016, he received the PECASE award for his research on genes and stress. His big goal is to create a "pacemaker" for the brain. This device would help control the electrical signals that cause mental disorders.
Sharing Knowledge and Helping Others
Dr. Dzirasa gave a TED talk at TEDMED. He talked about how engineering could help cure mental disorders. He also spoke at the Aspen Ideas Festival. There, he discussed using technology to improve mental health.
He cares a lot about teaching people about health, especially in communities that don't always get enough information. He also works to make science more diverse. In 2007, he started a group for minority fellows in science. He mentors students through the Meyerhoff Scholarship Program. Dr. Dzirasa welcomes many students to his lab each year, especially those from groups that are not often seen in science.
Awards and Special Recognitions
Dr. Dzirasa has received many awards for his important work:
- 2021 Elected Fellow of the National Academy of Medicine
- 2019 AAAS Leshner Fellowship
- 2016 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers
- 2016 White House Frontiers Conference
- 2016 Duke Medical Alumni Emerging Leader Award
- 2013 Sidney Baer Prize for Schizophrenia Research
- 2011 International Mental Health Research Organization Rising Star Award
- 2008 Ebony magazine's 30 Young Leaders of the Future
- 2007 Charles Johnson Leadership Award
