Thomas Jessell facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Thomas Jessell
|
|
|---|---|
Photo by Jill LeVine
|
|
| Born |
Thomas Michael Jessell
2 August 1951 |
| Died | 28 April 2019 (aged 67) |
| Alma mater | University of Cambridge |
| Awards |
Ralph W. Gerard Prize in Neuroscience (2016)
Gruber Prize in Neuroscience (2014) Gairdner Foundation International Award (2012) Perl-UNC Prize (2009) Kavli Prize (2008) March of Dimes Prize in Developmental Biology (2001) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Neuroscience |
| Institutions | Columbia University Harvard University Howard Hughes Medical Institute |
| Thesis | Regulation of the Release of Substance P and Other Putative Neurotransmitters from Mammalian Brain In Vitro (1977) |
| Academic advisors | Gerald Fischbach |
| Notable students |
|
Thomas Michael Jessell (born August 2, 1951 – died April 28, 2019) was a very important brain scientist. He was a professor at Columbia University in New York. He studied how our brains and nervous systems develop.
In 2018, he left his positions at Columbia University. This happened after an investigation found he had not followed some university rules. Sadly, he passed away shortly after from a serious brain condition called progressive supranuclear palsy.
Contents
Education and Early Career
Thomas Jessell earned his PhD in neuroscience in 1977. He studied at the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom.
After finishing his PhD, he moved to the United States. He worked as a researcher at Harvard Medical School. In 1981, he became a professor there.
Research on Brain Development
In 1985, Jessell joined Columbia University. He worked there for the rest of his career. He became known for his amazing work on how nerve cells connect.
He studied the chemical signals that help nerve cells build circuits. These circuits are like the wiring of our brain. They are very important for how we move and think.
One of his big discoveries was about a chemical called netrin. In 1994, he showed that netrin helps guide nerve fibers. These fibers, called commissural axons, connect different parts of the spinal cord.
Awards and Recognition
Thomas Jessell received many important awards for his work.
- In 1994, he won the NAS Award for Scientific Reviewing. This award is from the United States National Academy of Sciences.
- In 2008, he was one of the first people to win the Kavli Prize for Neuroscience. This is a very big award in science.
- He was also chosen as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1996. This is a special honor for top scientists.
- In 2016, he won the Ralph W. Gerard Prize. This award is from the Society for Neuroscience.
Books He Helped Write
Jessell also helped write a famous textbook. It is called Principles of Neural Science. He worked on it with Eric R. Kandel and James Schwartz. This book teaches students a lot about the brain.
Later Life
In 2018, Thomas Jessell left his jobs at Columbia University. He also left his role at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. This was because an investigation found he had not followed some university rules.
Around this time, he was also dealing with a serious brain illness. This illness was a fast-acting neurodegenerative disease. He passed away in April 2019.
