Susan McConnell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Susan McConnell
|
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born | 1958 |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | Harvard University |
| Known for | Neural development |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Neurobiology |
| Institutions | Stanford University |
| Doctoral advisor | Simon LeVay |
Susan McConnell is a brain scientist, also known as a neurobiologist. She studies how the brain develops, especially the part called the cerebral cortex. This is the outer layer of the brain that helps us think, learn, and remember.
Dr. McConnell is a professor at Stanford University. She holds special titles there, like the Susan B. Ford Professor. She is also a member of important science groups, including the National Academy of Sciences.
Contents
Becoming a Scientist: Susan McConnell's Education
Susan McConnell finished her first college degree in 1980 from Harvard College and Radcliffe College. She then went on to earn her PhD in neurobiology from Harvard University in 1987. Her research for her PhD was guided by Simon LeVay.
After getting her PhD, she continued her studies as a postdoctoral fellow. She worked in the lab of Carla J. Shatz at Stanford University.
Exploring the Brain: Susan McConnell's Research
Dr. McConnell's research looks at how brain cells, called neurons, are made and connected. She wants to understand how these connections form working circuits in the developing cerebral cortex.
How Brain Cells Grow and Change
Her work showed that how a brain cell divides plays a big role in what kind of cell it becomes. She found that when a cell divides unevenly, it helps control how the brain develops. Dr. McConnell discovered that special proteins, called Notch proteins, help decide if a new cell will become a neuron or stay a cell that can make more neurons.
How Brain Cells Move Around
Dr. McConnell's research also showed that young brain cells move in many different ways. They travel from where they are born to their final spot in the brain. This was a new idea at the time. Many scientists thought all brain cells moved along special "roads" made by other cells.
Her recent work continues to explain the tiny details of how brain cells become specialized. She also studies how they move and how their connections are guided.
Sharing Knowledge: Susan McConnell's Teaching
Stanford University has given Dr. McConnell its highest awards for teaching. These include the Hoagland Prize and the Walter J. Gores Award. She has taught college students about brain development since 1989.
From 2010 to 2012, Dr. McConnell helped lead a group that looked at college education at Stanford. They suggested ways to make learning better for students.
She also helped create a special class for biology students at Stanford. In this class, students combine science with creative projects like art.
Beyond the Lab: Conservation Photography
Besides her science work, Susan McConnell is a talented wildlife photographer. She became interested in using photos to tell stories about animals after a trip to Svalbard, Norway.
She teaches college classes on conservation photography at Stanford. Her amazing photos have been shown in magazines like Smithsonian and National Geographic.
Dr. McConnell was the first non-art professor at Stanford to have a show in the Stanford Art Gallery. Her show was called On the Shoulders of Giants. It focused on elephants, the problem of poaching, and the illegal ivory trade.
Awards and Honors
Susan McConnell is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor. She has received many other awards, including:
- Krieg Cortical Discoverer (2011)
- MERIT Award, National Institute of Mental Health (2008)
- McKnight Investigator (1997–1999)
- Hoagland Prize for Undergraduate Teaching (1997)
- Society for Neuroscience Young Investigator Award (1995)
- McKnight Scholar (1993–1996)
- National Science Foundation Presidential Faculty Fellow (1993–1996)
- National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator (1991–1993)
- Alfred P. Sloan Research Fellow (1991–1993)
- Marcus Singer Award (1990)
- Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences (1989–1994)
- National Research Service Award, National Eye Institute (1987–1989)
- National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (1981–1984)
