Stephen Kuffler
| Stephen W. Kuffler | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born |
August 24, 1913 Hungary |
| Died |
October 11, 1980 (aged 67) United States |
| Residence |
Hungary United States |
| Nationality |
Hungary United States |
| Fields |
Neurophysiology Neurobiology |
| Institutions |
University of Sydney University of Chicago Johns Hopkins University Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole Harvard University Salk Institute |
| Alma mater | Vienna Medical School |
| Doctoral advisor | John Carew Eccles |
| Doctoral students |
David Hubel Torsten Wiesel Eric Kandel John Graham Nicholls Horace Barlow Yuh-Nung Jan Lily Jan |
| Known for |
Neurophysiology Neurobiology |
| Notable awards |
Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize (1972) Dickson Prize (1974) Member of National Academy of Sciences Foreign Member of Royal Society[1] |
Stephen William Kuffler ForMemRS[1] (August 24 Tap, Hungary, 1913 – October 11, 1980) was a pre-eminent Hungarian-American neurophysiologist. He is often referred to as the "Father of Modern Neuroscience". Kuffler, alongside noted Nobel Laureates Sir John Ecccles and Sir Bernard Katz gave research lectures at the University of Sydney, strongly influencing its intellectual environment while working at Sydney Hospital.[2][3] He founded the Harvard Neurobiology department in 1966, and made numerous seminal contributions to our understanding of vision, neural coding, and the neural implementation of behavior. He is known for his research on neuromuscular junctions in frogs, presynaptic inhibition, and the neurotransmitter GABA. In 1972, he was awarded the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize from Columbia University.[4][5]
Honors and awards
Kuffler was widely recognized as a truly original and creative neuroscientist. In addition to numerous prizes, honorary degrees, and special lectureships from countries over the world, Steve was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1964 and to the Royal Society as Foreign Member in 1971. In 1964 he was named the Robert Winthrop professor of neurophysiology and neuropharmacology. From 1966 to 1974 he was the Robert Winthrop professor of neurobiology, and in 1974 he became John Franklin Enders university professor.
A detailed, affectionate, and authoritative account of Stephen Kuffler's life and work has been provided by Sir Bernard Katz (Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society, vol. 28, pp. 225–59, 1982) and in a book entitled Steve, Remembrances of Stephen W. Kuffler, compiled and introduced by U. J. McMahan (Sunderland, Mass.: Sinauer Associates, 1990). An account of Kuffler's work is given by Eric R. Kandel, In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind (New York: Norton, 2006), stating: 'I don't think anyone on the American scene since then has been as influential or as beloved as Steve Kuffler.'
See also
- Seymour Benzer
- David Hubel
- Eric R. Kandel
- David Rioch
- Gunther Stent
- Torsten Wiesel
- Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Katz, B. (1982). "Stephen William Kuffler. 24 August 1913-11 October 1980". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society 28: 224–226. doi:10.1098/rsbm.1982.0011. JSTOR 769900.
- ↑ http://sydney.edu.au/medicine/physiology/about/history.php
- ↑ http://australia.gov.au/about-australia/australian-story/australias-nobel-laureates
- ↑ Nicholls, J. G. (1998). "Stephen W. Kuffler: August 24, 1913-October 11, 1980". Biographical memoirs. National Academy of Sciences (U.S.) 74: 193–208. PMID 11623754.
- ↑ "In appreciation of Stephen W. Kuffler". The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience 1 (1): 1–2. 1981. PMID 7050306.
External links
- Stephen W. Kuffler's biographical memoir at the National Academy of Sciences.
- The Official Site of Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize
- National Academy of Sciences Biographical Memoir