Susan Greenfield, Baroness Greenfield facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Baroness Greenfield
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| Born |
Susan Adele Greenfield
1 October 1950 Chiswick, London, England
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| Alma mater | St Hilda's College, Oxford |
| Spouse(s) |
Peter Atkins
(m. 1991; div. 2005) |
| Awards | CBE, Knight of the Legion of Honour |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions |
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| Thesis | Origins of acetylcholinesterase in cerebrospinal fluid (1977) |
| Doctoral advisor | Anthony David Smith |
Susan Adele Greenfield, also known as Baroness Greenfield, is a famous English scientist, writer, and broadcaster. She was born on 1 October 1950. She is also a member of the House of Lords, which is part of the UK Parliament.
Her main research focuses on brain diseases like Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. She also studies how our brains work, especially how we become aware of things (called neuroscience of consciousness). Baroness Greenfield is very interested in how modern technology affects our brains.
She is a senior research fellow at Lincoln College, Oxford. She used to be a professor who studied how brain cells communicate. From 2005 to 2013, she was the leader (chancellor) of Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh. She also led the Royal Institution of Great Britain from 1998 to 2010. In 2013, she helped start a company called Neuro-bio Ltd, which works on new medicines.
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Early Life and Education
Susan Greenfield's mother, Doris, was a dancer. Her father, Reginald, was an electrician. Her father's family came from Austria.
Susan went to the Godolphin and Latymer School. There, she studied subjects like Latin, Greek, ancient history, and maths. She was the first person in her close family to go to university. She first went to St Hilda's College to study Philosophy and Psychology. Later, she changed her mind and earned a top degree in experimental psychology.
She continued her studies at St Hugh's College, Oxford. In 1977, she earned her PhD, which is a very high university degree. Her research was about a chemical in the brain called acetylcholinesterase. After that, she worked as a junior research fellow at Green College, Oxford, from 1981 to 1984.
Her Amazing Career
Susan Greenfield's research mainly looks at how the brain works. She focuses on understanding brain diseases like Parkinson's disease and Alzheimer's disease. She is also well-known for making science easy for everyone to understand.
She has written many books about the brain. She often gives public talks and appears on TV and radio shows. Since 1976, she has published about 200 scientific papers. These papers are reviewed by other experts before they are published. Her work includes studies on how the brain handles addiction and reward, involving brain chemicals like dopamine. She also looked into attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and how our surroundings affect our brains.
In 1994, she made history as the first woman to give the Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. These lectures are very famous and were shown on the BBC. Her talks were called "Journey to the Centre of the Brain." In 1998, she became the Director of the Royal Institution. This role ended in 2010.
At Oxford, she held two important jobs. She was a Tutorial Fellow in Medicine at Lincoln College. She was also a Professor of Synaptic Pharmacology, studying how brain cells connect. From 1995 to 1999, she gave public lectures in London as the Gresham Professor of Physic.
In 2013, she helped start a company called Neuro-Bio Ltd. This company works on tests and treatments for Alzheimer's disease. They have found a way to stop brain cells from dying, which is a big step in fighting the disease. The company has raised a lot of money to support its research.
Politics and Public Service
Baroness Greenfield is a member of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in the House of Lords. She sits as a crossbencher, which means she doesn't belong to any political party. She often speaks about important topics like education and helping women succeed.
Books She Has Written
In 2013, Susan Greenfield wrote a science-fiction novel called 2121: A Tale from the Next Century. It tells a story about people who play video games all the time and their conflicts with others.
In 2014, she published a popular science book called Mind Change: How Digital Technologies are Leaving their Mark on our Brains. In this book, she shares her ideas about how digital technology affects our brains.
Awards and Honours
Baroness Greenfield has received many awards and honours. As of 2016, she has 32 honorary degrees. She won the Royal Society's Michael Faraday Prize for explaining science to the public. She is also an Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and the London Science Museum.
In 2000, she received the CBE award. This was for her great work in helping people understand science. Later that year, The Observer newspaper named her Woman of the Year. In 2001, she became a Life Peer, which means she became a Baroness in the House of Lords for life. She chose the title Baroness Greenfield, of Ot Moor, Oxfordshire.
In 2003, the French Government made her a Knight of the Legion of Honour, which is a very high award in France. She has also received other awards for her contributions to science and technology.
Helping Others
Baroness Greenfield supports several charities. She is a patron of Alzheimer's Research UK, which helps find cures for Alzheimer's disease. She also supports Dignity in Dying. She helped create and is a trustee for Science for Humanity. This charity connects scientists and experts to solve everyday problems in developing countries.
Personal Life
Susan Greenfield was married to University of Oxford professor Peter Atkins. They were married from 1991 until their divorce in 2005.
