5 Simons-Supported Investigators Receive Awards from National Academies of Science

Headshots of Simons Investigators receiving awards from the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academies of Science (NAS) has announced that they will honor 20 individuals with awards recognizing their extraordinary scientific achievements. Five of these individuals are Simons-supported investigators and community members. The winners will be honored in a ceremony on April 27 during the National Academy of Sciences’ 162nd annual meeting.

Anne Churchland (University of California, Los Angeles)
PI, Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain (SCGB), Simons Collaboration on Plasticity and the Aging Brain (SCPAG)

Churchland will receive the Pradel Research Award for expanding our understanding of the neural circuits that support decision-making. The prize is presented with a $50,000 research award to support neuroscience research.

Churchland’s work on understanding how decision-making changes with age is supported by SCPAG, and she is currently a member of the International Brain Lab, which is supported by SCGB.

Evelina Fedorenko (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
SFARI Investigator

Fedorenko will receive a Troland Research Award for her groundbreaking contributions and insights into the language network in the human brain. The award is presented with a $75,000 prize to support her research.

As a SFARI Investigator, Fedorenko’s lab studies the language system’s internal architecture to answer questions pertaining to the relationship between language and various cognitive, perceptual and motor systems.

Liqun Luo (Stanford University)
SFARI Investigator

Luo will receive the NAS Award in the Neurosciences for advancing our understanding of the mechanisms of neural development, neuronal diversity and brain wiring. The award is presented with a $25,000 prize.

As a SFARI Investigator, Luo studies how neuronal circuits are precisely wired during development and how this organizational precision allows the processing and production of complex information.

John Sutherland (MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology)
Co-Director, Simons Collaboration on Origins of Life (SCOL)

Sutherland will receive the NAS Award in Early Earth and Life Studies — Stanley Miller Medal for advancing our understanding of the chemical origins of microbiology. The award is presented with a medal and a $10,000 prize.

Sutherland leads SCOL, which started in 2013, and explores how life can arise and evolve, whether on Earth or elsewhere in the cosmos.

Michael Yartsev (University of California, Berkeley; Howard Hughes Medical Institute)
Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship Award in Neuroscience Recipient

Yartsev will receive the Richard Lounsbery Award for his pivotal contributions to advancing our understanding of systems neuroscience. The award is presented with a $75,000 prize.

Yartsev received the Klingenstein-Simons Fellowship Award in Neuroscience (an award for early-career researchers) in 2016 for his work investigating vocal development in the mammalian brain.