Robert Sapolsky

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Robert Maurice Sapolsky (b. 1957) is the John A. and Cynthia Fry Gunn Professor of Biological Sciences, and Professor of Neurology and Neurological Sciences at Stanford University.

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[edit] Education

Robert Sapolsky received his B.A. in biological anthropology summa cum laude from Harvard University and subsequently attended Rockefeller University where he received his Ph.D. in Neuroendocrinology, working in the lab of Bruce McEwen, a world-renowned endocrinologist. He is currently a professor at Stanford University, holding joint appointments in several departments, including Biological Sciences, Neurology & Neurological Sciences, and Neurosurgery.[1]

[edit] Career

Sapolsky, a neuroendocrinologist, has focused his research on issues of stress and neuron degeneration, as well as on the possibilities of gene therapy strategies for help in protecting susceptible neurons from disease. Currently, he is working on gene transfer techniques to strengthen neurons against the disabling effects of glucocorticoids. Sapolsky also spends time annually in Kenya studying a population of wild baboons in order to identify the sources of stress of their environment, and the relationship between personality and patterns of stress-related disease in these animals. More specifically, Sapolsky studies the cortisol levels between the Alpha male and female and the subordinates to determine stress level.

He is the author of Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: An Updated Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases and Coping (1994), which explores the effects of prolonged stress and its contribution to damaging physical and mental afflictions. His other books include, The Trouble of Testosterone: And Other Essays on the Biology of the Human Predicament (1997), Junk Food Monkeys (1997), A Primate’s Memoir (2002) and Monkeyluv: And Other Essays on Our Lives as Animals (2005).

[edit] Honors

Sapolsky has received numerous honors and awards for his work, including the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship genius grant in 1987[2], an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, and the Klingenstein Fellowship in Neuroscience.

[edit] Quotations

"Finish this lecture, go outside, and unexpectedly get gored by an elephant, and you are going to secrete glucocorticoids. There's no way out of it. You cannot psychologically reframe your experience and decide you did not like the shirt, here's an excuse to throw it out—that sort of thing."[3]

"If a rat is a good model for your emotional life, you're in big trouble."[3]

"What's the punch line here? Physiologically, it doesn't come cheap being a bastard 24 hours a day."[3]

[edit] See also

[edit] Selected works

[edit] Books

  • Stress, the Aging Brain, and the Mechanisms of Neuron Death (MIT Press, 1992) ISBN 0-262-19320-5
  • Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers (1994, Holt/Owl 3rd Rep. Ed. 2004) ISBN 0-8050-7369-8
  • The Trouble with Testosterone: And Other Essays on the Biology of the Human Predicament (Scribner, 1997) ISBN 0-684-83891-5
  • Junk Food Monkeys (Headline Book Publishing, 1997) ISBN 978-0747276760
  • A Primate's Memoir (Touchstone Books, 2002) ISBN 0-7432-0247-3
  • Monkeyluv : And Other Essays on Our Lives as Animals (Scribner, Fall 2005) ISBN 0-7432-6015-5
  • "Are the Desert People Winning?" Discover magazine, August 2005, Vol.26, #8 , p. 38–41
  • Biology and Human Behavior: The Neurological Origins of Individuality, 2nd Edition (The Teaching Company, 2005) ISBN 1-59803-079-5 (The Great Courses audio lecture series)

[edit] Journal articles

  • Sapolsky, Robert; Lewis C. Krey, and Bruce S. McEwen (25 September 2000). "The Neuroendocrinology of Stress and Aging: The Glucocorticoid Cascade Hypothesis". Science of Aging Knowledge Environment 38: 21. 
  • Sapolsky, Robert; L. Michael Romero and Allan U. Munck (2000). "How Do Glucocorticoids Influence Stress Responses? Integrating Permissive, Suppressive, Stimulatory, and Preparative Actions". Endocrine Reviews 21: 55–89. doi:10.1210/er.21.1.55. 

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Stanford Univ. detail of Prof. Sapolsky. Retrieved on 2007-07-27.
  2. ^ MacArthur Fellows List - July 1987. Retrieved on 2008-03-24.
  3. ^ a b c Stress, Neurodegeneration and Individual Differences. Retrieved on 2007-07-27.

[edit] External links