Tirin Moore of Stanford University has been named the next recipient of the Andrew Carnegie Prize in Mind and Brain Sciences(opens in new window). Established by the Carnegie Corporation of New York(opens in new window) as part of its centennial celebration, the prize recognizes trailblazers in the brain and behavioral sciences whose research has helped advance the field and its applications. The award will be presented at a hybrid event on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2023 at 4 p.m. in the Cohon University Center Connan Room and via Zoom. 

Each year, the winner is invited to Carnegie Mellon University's campus to deliver a scientific talk and presented with an original piece of artwork commissioned from artist Greg Dunn(opens in new window). 

Barbara Shinn-Cunningham(opens in new window), director of CMU's Neuroscience Institute(opens in new window), will present the prize. 

"This is one of the Neuroscience Institute’s most popular events for the Pittsburgh neuroscience community. The lecture brings the top scientists in the world to CMU, allowing trainees and faculty to hear them present their work firsthand and to learn from them in intimate settings. Dr. Moore’s work on cognitive visual processing relates directly to research in many of our labs, making it especially exciting to have him visit," Shinn-Cunningham said.

Moore is a professor of neurobiology at Stanford University and an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. A member of both the National Academy of Science and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, he is known for his work on the neural mechanisms of visual perception, visually guided behavior and cognition. At the event, he will give a lecture, "Large-scale, High-Density Recordings in the Primate Brain."

Additionally, the Neuroscience Institute will award the Carnegie Prize Student Fellowship to Yuki Minai(opens in new window), a graduate student advised by CMU's Matt Smith(opens in new window) and Byron Yu(opens in new window). As part of the fellowship, Minai will visit Moore’s lab to better understand the functions of prefrontal cortex and activity of neurons in this region during tasks and develop technical abilities to manipulate neural activity with microstimulation.

"I am honored to receive this fellowship. I believe there is a strong synergy between Dr. Moore's research and my project," she said.