Carla Schatz to Head the Stanford Bio-X Program

The May issue of the journal Nature profiles Carla Shatz, one of the world's top neuroscientists.

Carla Shatz has blazed a trail of firsts for women in neuroscience. Along the way, she has mentored a number of female scientists. She thinks that most girls are interested in science, but many simply lose interest under pressure from society.

After receiving a bachelor's degree in chemistry from the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard, Shatz spent two years on a Marshall Scholarship at University College London learning about biology. After returning to the U.S., she received the first doctorates in neurobiology from Harvard. Since then, her career has been a string of accomplishments:

• first female basic scientist to be granted tenure at Stanford Medical School
• first female chair of the Harvard Department of Neurobiology
• and now she's soon to be back at Stanford as the new head of the Bio-X program, which aims to promote interdisciplinary research in biology and medicine

Former colleagues eagerly await her return. "BioX already has fruit, but Carla will grow that tree and expand its influence," says Susan McConnell, a former graduate student of Shatz, adding that one of her many exceptional talents is facilitating long-lasting communities.

(And in case you were wondering, no, she hasn't won the National Medal of Science.)

Additional Information

• The Shatz Lab at Harvard Medical School
• National Academy of Sciences: Interview with Carla Shatz
• Harvard Magazine (May-June 2002): Brainy Women at the Frontiers of Neuroscience
• Discover Magazine (February 2001): Carla Shatz She Seeks the Brain's Secrets
• Futures in Biotech: Carla Shatz on the Human Brain

Tags: Carla Shatz, neuroscience, Bio-X, Stanford, Harvard