Susan Amara facts for kids
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Susan G. Amara is a famous American professor of neuroscience, which is the study of the brain and nervous system. She is the Scientific Director at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), a top U.S. organization for brain research.
Dr. Amara is a highly respected scientist. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). These are special honors given only to the most important scientists. She was also the president of the Society for Neuroscience.
For her education, Dr. Amara earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Stanford University. She later received her Ph.D. in Physiology and Pharmacology from the University of California, San Diego.
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A Career in Science
After finishing her education, Dr. Amara worked as a professor at Yale University and the Vollum Institute. Her amazing work led to her being elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2004. In 2007, she became a fellow of the AAAS, another big honor in the world of science.
What Does Dr. Amara Study?
Dr. Amara's research focuses on how the brain sends messages. Imagine your brain has tiny delivery trucks called "transporters." These transporters carry chemical messages that affect how you think, feel, and act.
Her laboratory studies how certain medicines change the way these transporters work. This includes medicines that help people with conditions like ADHD and others that affect mood. By understanding this, scientists can create better treatments for health conditions related to the brain. Her lab has received twenty U.S. patents for its discoveries.
Leading the Scientific Community
Dr. Amara is a true leader in science. She has served on many important boards and committees for organizations that study health, such as the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA).
In 2011, she spoke to the United States Senate. She explained why it is so important for the government to support science. She pointed out that funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has led to major discoveries that help treat brain disorders.
In 2013, Dr. Amara became the Scientific Director at the NIMH. She continues her important research in her own lab there. She also served as president of the AAAS, one of the world's largest scientific societies, from 2021 to 2022.
Honors and Awards
Dr. Amara has received many awards for her incredible contributions to science. Some of these include:
- Burroughs Wellcome Hitchings Award in drug discovery
- The Society for Neuroscience Young Investigator Award
- The ASPET John Jacob Abel Award
- McKnight Neuroscience Investigator Award
- NIH MERIT Award from NIDA
- NARSAD Distinguished Investigator Award
- Julius Axelrod Award from the Catecholamine Society
