Anirvan Ghosh
Encyclopedia
Anirvan Ghosh is an American neuroscientist
of Indian descent. His research
has contributed to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that regulate development of the mammalian brain
. A major focus of his research has been to identify mechanisms that regulate neuronal connectivity and the effects of neuronal activity on brain development. He is currently the Stephen Kuffler
Professor
of Biology at the University of California, San Diego
.
, Indiana
and grew up in Kanpur, India
. After completing high school at Central School (Kendriya Vidyalaya
) IIT Kanpur, he moved to the U.S. in 1981 to pursue his undergraduate education at the California Institute of Technology
. He graduated with a B.S. with honor in Physics
from Caltech in 1985. From 1985 to 1990 he was a graduate student in the Stanford University Neurosciences Graduate Program, where he worked on the role of subplate neurons in establishing cortical connections in the laboratory of Carla J. Shatz
. He received his Ph.D.
in Neurobiology from Stanford University
in 1991. His postdoctoral training was with Michael E. Greenberg
at Harvard Medical School
where he worked on regulation of differentiation by extracellular signals and calcium regulation of BDNF expression. From 1995 to 2003 he was on the faculty
in the Department of Neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
. While at Johns Hopkins he cloned CREST as a calcium-regulated transcription factor and showed that it plays a critical role in brain development. In 2003 he moved to UCSD as the Stephen Kuffler
Professor
in the Neurobiology Section of the Division of Biological Sciences. His laboratory investigates regulation of synaptic connectivity and neural circuit formation in the mammalian brain.
Neuroscientist
A neuroscientist is an individual who studies the scientific field of neuroscience or any of its related sub-fields...
of Indian descent. His research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
has contributed to our understanding of the molecular mechanisms that regulate development of the mammalian brain
Brain
The brain is the center of the nervous system in all vertebrate and most invertebrate animals—only a few primitive invertebrates such as sponges, jellyfish, sea squirts and starfishes do not have one. It is located in the head, usually close to primary sensory apparatus such as vision, hearing,...
. A major focus of his research has been to identify mechanisms that regulate neuronal connectivity and the effects of neuronal activity on brain development. He is currently the Stephen Kuffler
Stephen Kuffler
Stephen William Kuffler was a pre-eminent Hungarian-American neurophysiologist. Often, he's been referred to as the "Father of Modern Neuroscience". He founded the Harvard Neurobiology department in 1966, and made numerous seminal contributions to our understanding of vision, neural coding, and...
Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of Biology at the University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Diego
The University of California, San Diego, commonly known as UCSD or UC San Diego, is a public research university located in the La Jolla neighborhood of San Diego, California, United States...
.
Biography
Anirvan Ghosh was born in 1964 in BloomingtonBloomington, Indiana
Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County in the southern region of the U.S. state of Indiana. The population was 80,405 at the 2010 census....
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
and grew up in Kanpur, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. After completing high school at Central School (Kendriya Vidyalaya
Kendriya Vidyalaya
Kendriya Vidyalaya, is a system of central government schools under the Ministry of Human Resource Development ....
) IIT Kanpur, he moved to the U.S. in 1981 to pursue his undergraduate education at the California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
. He graduated with a B.S. with honor in Physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
from Caltech in 1985. From 1985 to 1990 he was a graduate student in the Stanford University Neurosciences Graduate Program, where he worked on the role of subplate neurons in establishing cortical connections in the laboratory of Carla J. Shatz
Carla J. Shatz
Carla J. Shatz, Ph.D., is an American neurobiologist and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Institute of Medicine....
. He received his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in Neurobiology from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1991. His postdoctoral training was with Michael E. Greenberg
Michael E. Greenberg
Michael Greenberg is an American neuroscientist who specializes in neurobiology at the molecular level.- Biography :...
at Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School
Harvard Medical School is the graduate medical school of Harvard University. It is located in the Longwood Medical Area of the Mission Hill neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts....
where he worked on regulation of differentiation by extracellular signals and calcium regulation of BDNF expression. From 1995 to 2003 he was on the faculty
Faculty (university)
A faculty is a division within a university comprising one subject area, or a number of related subject areas...
in the Department of Neuroscience at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine , located in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., is the academic medical teaching and research arm of Johns Hopkins University. Hopkins has consistently been the nation's number one medical school in the amount of competitive research grants awarded by the National...
. While at Johns Hopkins he cloned CREST as a calcium-regulated transcription factor and showed that it plays a critical role in brain development. In 2003 he moved to UCSD as the Stephen Kuffler
Stephen Kuffler
Stephen William Kuffler was a pre-eminent Hungarian-American neurophysiologist. Often, he's been referred to as the "Father of Modern Neuroscience". He founded the Harvard Neurobiology department in 1966, and made numerous seminal contributions to our understanding of vision, neural coding, and...
Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
in the Neurobiology Section of the Division of Biological Sciences. His laboratory investigates regulation of synaptic connectivity and neural circuit formation in the mammalian brain.
Awards
- EJLB Foundation Scholar Research Award
- Damon Runyon Scholar Award
- Klingenstein Fellowship Award in Neuroscience
- Alfred P. SloanAlfred P. SloanAlfred Pritchard Sloan, Jr. was an American business executive in the automotive industry. He was a long-time president, chairman, and CEO of General Motors Corporation...
Research Fellow - Pew Scholar Award
- Society for NeuroscienceSociety for NeuroscienceThe Society for Neuroscience is a professional society, headquartered in Washington, D.C., for basic scientists and physicians around the world whose research is focused on the study of the brain and nervous system.-History:...
Young Investigator Award - Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASEPECASEThe Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers is the highest honor bestowed by the United States government on outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their independent research careers. The White House, following recommendations from participating agencies,...
) - UCSD Revelle College Outstanding Faculty Award
Major publications
- Ghosh, A., A. Antonini, S.K. McConnell and C.J. Shatz (1990). Requirement for subplate neurons in the formation of thalamocortical connections. Nature 347: 179-181
- Ghosh, A. and C.J. Shatz (1992). Involvement of subplate neurons in the formation of ocular dominance columns. Science 255:1441-1443.
- Ghosh, A., J. Carnahan and M.E. Greenberg (1994). Requirement for BDNF in activity-dependent survival of cortical neurons. Science 263:1618-1623.
- Ghosh, A. and M.E. Greenberg (1995). Distinct roles for bFGF and NT3 in the regulation of cortical neurogenesis. Neuron 15:89-103.
- Polleux, F., R.J. Giger, D.D. Ginty, A.L. Kolodkin, and A. Ghosh (1998). Patterning of cortical efferent projections by semaphorin-neuropilin interactions. Science 282:1904-1906.
- Polleux, F., T. Morrow and A. Ghosh (2000). Semaphorin 3A is a chemoattractant for developing cortical dendrites. Nature 404:567-573.
- Aizawa, H., Hu, S-C, Bobb, K., Balakrishnan, K., Ince, G., Gurevich, I., Cowan, M., and A. Ghosh (2004). Dendrite development regulated by CREST, a calcium-regulated transcription activator. Science 303:197-202.
- Qiu, Z. and A. Ghosh (2008) A calcium-dependent switch in a CREST-BRG1 complex regulates activity-dependent gene expression. Neuron 60:775-787.