Neil Burgess (neuroscientist) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Neil Burgess
FRS FMedSci
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Burgess in 2017
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| Born | 13 July 1966 Oakington, Cambridgeshire, England
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| Education |
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| Alma mater | |
| Spouse(s) |
Cathryn McDowell
(m. 1997) |
| Children | 3 |
| Awards | Royal Society University Research Fellowship |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Neuroscience |
| Institutions | University College London |
| Thesis | Neural networks, human memory and optimisation (1990) |
| Doctoral advisor | Michael Moore |
Neil Burgess (born 13 July 1966) is a British scientist who studies the brain. He is a professor of cognitive neuroscience at University College London. He has been a professor there since 2004.
Professor Burgess is known for his important work on how we remember things. He also studies how our brains understand where we are in the world. He creates special computer programs, called computational models, to help explain how our brains work. These models show how our actions are linked to the activity in our brain's networks.
Contents
Early Life and School Days
Neil Burgess was born on July 13, 1966. His hometown is Oakington, in Cambridgeshire, England. His parents are Alan and Lore Burgess.
He went to three different schools in Cambridge. These were Newnham Croft Primary School, Parkside Community College, and Hills Road Sixth Form College.
Studying at University
After school, Burgess went to University College London. He studied mathematics and physics there. He did very well and graduated with top honours in 1987.
Then, he continued his studies at the University of Manchester. He focused on theoretical physics. During this time, he started working on ideas about how memory works. He earned his PhD degree in 1990.
Understanding the Brain and Memory
Professor Burgess has created models to show how brain cells, called neurons, work together. These models help us understand how our brains know where we are. They also explain how we remember and even imagine places.
His work helps us understand different types of memory. This includes spatial memory, which is about remembering places. It also covers episodic memory, which is about remembering events. And autobiographical memory, which is about remembering your own life story.
He has also studied how brain activity affects these memories. With other scientists, he even predicted and found special neurons. These neurons help our brains understand the edges and boundaries of our environment.
Awards and Special Honours
Neil Burgess has received several important awards for his work. In 2009, he became a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. This means he was recognized as a top expert in medical science.
In 2017, he was also chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a very high honour for scientists in the United Kingdom. Before this, he held a special research fellowship from the Royal Society from 1993 to 2001.
About His Family
Neil Burgess married Cathryn Jane McDowell in 1997. They have three children together. They have two sons and one daughter.
