Carla J. Shatz
Personal Information
Born: unknown
Country of Birth: USA
Nationality: USA
Ethnicity: White
Education
Radcliffe College BA & MA Chemistry 1969; University of the College of London MPhil Physiology 1971; Harvard Medical School PhD Neurobiology 1976
"Cells that fire together, wire together."
— Carla J. Shatz
Professional Life
Field of Study: Neurobiology
Institution/Corporation: Stanford University; Harvard University; Howard Hughes Medical Institute; UC Berkeley
Degrees & Memberships: Honorary Degree: James Watson School of Biological Sciences Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (2010) Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne Switzerland (2002) Norwegian University of Science & Technology (NTNU 2023); Member: American Academy of Arts & Sciences (1992) American Philosophical Society (1997) National Academy of Sciences (1995) National Academy of Medicine (1999) Foreign Member of the Royal Society of London (2011) Bio-X Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences (1999) Society for Neuroscience ( President 1994) European Academy of Sciences & Arts (1992)
Awards & Achievements
Awards: 2016 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience; 2018 Harvey Prize in Science & Technology; 2006 Gill Prize in Neuroscience Indiana University; 2011 Ralph W. Gerard Prize in Neuroscience Society for Neuroscience; 2015 Gruber Prize in Neuroscience; 2016 Champalimaud Foundation Vision Prize; 2013 Pasarow Foundation Award in Neuropsychiatry Research; 2013 Mortimer D. Sackler MD Prize for Distinguished Achievement in Developmental Psychobiology; 2009 Mika Salpeter Lifetime Achievement Award Society for Neuroscience; 2000 Weitzmann Women & Science Award; 1997 Alcon Award for Outstanding Contributions to Vision Research; 1995 Charles A. Dana Award for Pioneering Achievement in Health & Education; 1985 Young Investigator Award Society for Neuroscience; 1993 Silvo Conte Award National Foundation for Brain Research; 1999 Bernard Sachs Award Child Neurology Society
Achievements: 1st female to receive a PhD in neurobiology from Harvard; helped develop Harvard Center for Neurodegeneration & Repair (now Harvard NeuroDiscovery Center) & led Harvard Center for Brain Imaging
1st woman to receive a PhD in Neurobiology from Harvard
1st woman to receive a tenured position in the basic sciences at Stanford Medical School & head Harvard's Dept of Neurobiology
Studied the development of the mammalian visual system
1 of the pioneers who determined some of the basic principles of early brain development
Discovered the spontaneous activity of neurons in utero is critical for the formation of precise & orderly neural connections in the central nervous system
Discovered that waves of spontaneous activity in the retina can alter gene expression & the strength of synaptic connections
2000, she & colleagues identified the MHC Class 1 molecules as important for neuronal plasticity
Holds 2 patents