Carla J. Shatz
Encyclopedia
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
.
Carla Shatz graduated from Radcliffe College
in 1969 with a B.A. in chemistry
. She received an M.Phil. in Physiology from the University College London
in 1971 on a Marshall Scholarship
. In 1976, she received a Ph.D.
in neurobiology from Harvard Medical School
, where she studied with the Nobel laureates David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel
. From 1976 to 1978 she obtained postdoctoral training with Dr. Pasko Rakic in the department of neuroscience
, Harvard Medical School. In 1978, Dr. Shatz moved to Stanford University
, where she began her studies of the development of the mammalian visual system
in the department of neurobiology. She became professor of neurobiology in 1989. In 1992, she moved her laboratory to the department of molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley
, where she became a Howard Hughes Medical Institute
investigator. During 1994-1995 she was president of the Society for Neuroscience
and served on the Council of the National Academy of Sciences from 1998 to 2001. From 2000 until 2007, she was the chair of the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School and the Nathan Marsh Pusey Professor of Neurobiology. She also helped to develop the Harvard Center for Neurodegeneration and Repair (now named the NeuroDiscovery Center) and led the Harvard Center for Brain Imaging. Dr. Shatz is the inaugural chair holder of The Sapp Family
Provostial Professorship, holds professorship appointments in both the Biology department (School of Humanities and Sciences) and in Neurobiology (School of Medicine) and is director of the Bio-X program at Stanford University School of Medicine
.
. She found that the spontaneous activity of neurons in utero
is critical for the formation of precise and orderly neural connections in the central nervous system
. Her recent work shows that waves of spontaneous activity in the retina
can alter gene expression
and the strength of synaptic connections
.
. She has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences
, the Institute of Medicine
, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
, the American Association for the Advancement of Science
, and the American Philosophical Society
. In 1997 she was invited by President Bill Clinton
and First Lady Hillary Clinton to speak at the White House Conference on Early Childhood Development and Learning.
Prenatal development of individual retinogeniculate axons during the period of
segregation.
Nature 308(5962):845-8.
McConnell SK, Ghosh A, Shatz CJ. (1989)
Subplate neurons pioneer the first axon pathway from the cerebral cortex.
Science 245(4921):978-82.
Ghosh A, Antonini A, McConnell SK, Shatz CJ. (1990)
Requirement for subplate neurons in the formation of thalamocortical
connections.
Nature 347(6289):179-81.
Meister M, Wong RO, Baylor DA, Shatz CJ. (1991)
Synchronous bursts of action potentials in ganglion cells of the developing
mammalian retina.
Science 252(5008):939-43.
Ghosh A, Shatz CJ. (1992)
Involvement of subplate neurons in the formation of ocular dominance columns.
Science 255(5050):1441-3.
Wong RO, Chernjavsky A, Smith SJ, Shatz CJ. (1995)
Early functional neural networks in the developing retina.
Nature 374(6524):716-8.
Katz LC, Shatz CJ. (1996)
Synaptic activity and the construction of cortical circuits.
Science 274(5290):1133-8. Review
Penn AA, Riquelme PA, Feller MB, Shatz CJ. (1998) Competition in retinogeniculate patterning driven by spontaneous activity.
Science 279(5359):2108-12.
Catalano SM, Shatz CJ. (1998)
Activity-dependent cortical target selection by thalamic axons.
Science 281(5376):559-62.
Stellwagen D, Shatz CJ, and Feller MB. (1999) Dynamic processes of a developing retinal circuit are controlled by c-AMP, Neuron 24: 673-685.
Huh GS, Du H, Boulanger LM, Riquelme P, Brotz TM, and Shatz CJ. (2000) Functional requirement for Class I MHC in CNS development and plasticity. Science 290:2155-2159.
Man-Kit Lam D and Shatz CJ. (Eds.) Development of the Visual
System. MIT Press, 1991. ISBN 0-262-12154-9.
Stellwagen D, Shatz CJ. (2002) An instructive role for retinal waves in the development of retinogeniculate connectivity. Neuron 33:357-367.
Kanold PO, Kara P, Reid RC, and Shatz CJ. (2003) The subplate is required for functional maturation of visual cortical columns. Science 301:521-525.
Boulanger LM, Shatz CJ. (2004) Immune signaling in neural development, synaptic plasticity, and disease. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 5: 521-531.
Tagawa Y, Kanold PO, Majdan M, Shatz CJ. (2005) Multiple periods of
functional ocular dominance plasticity in mouse visual cortex. Nature
Neuroscience 8(3):380-8.
Kanold PO, Shatz CJ. (2006) Subplate neurons regulate maturation of cortical inhibition and outcome of ocular dominance plasticity.
Neuron 51(5):627-38.
Syken J, Grandpre T, Kanold PO, Shatz CJ. (2006) PirB restricts ocular-dominance plasticity in visual cortex. Science 313(5794):1795-800.
Majdan M, Shatz CJ. (2006) Effects of visual experience on activity-dependent gene regulation in cortex. Nature Neuroscience 9(5):650-9.
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
, the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
, and the Institute of Medicine
Institute of Medicine
The Institute of Medicine is a not-for-profit, non-governmental American organization founded in 1970, under the congressional charter of the National Academy of Sciences...
.
Carla Shatz graduated from Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was the coordinate college for Harvard University. It was also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. Radcliffe College conferred joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas beginning in 1963 and a formal merger agreement with...
in 1969 with a B.A. in chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
. She received an M.Phil. in Physiology from the University College London
University College London
University College London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and the oldest and largest constituent college of the federal University of London...
in 1971 on a Marshall Scholarship
Marshall Scholarship
The Marshall Scholarship, a postgraduate scholarships available to Americans, was created by the Parliament of the United Kingdom when the Marshall Aid Commemoration Act was passed in 1953. The scholarships serve as a living gift to the United States of America in recognition of the post-World War...
. In 1976, she received a 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 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 she studied with the Nobel laureates David Hubel and Torsten Wiesel
Torsten Wiesel
Torsten Nils Wiesel was a Swedish co-recipient with David H. Hubel of the 1981 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, for their discoveries concerning information processing in the visual system; the prize was shared with Roger W...
. From 1976 to 1978 she obtained postdoctoral training with Dr. Pasko Rakic in the department of neuroscience
Neuroscience
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system. Traditionally, neuroscience has been seen as a branch of biology. However, it is currently an interdisciplinary science that collaborates with other fields such as chemistry, computer science, engineering, linguistics, mathematics,...
, Harvard Medical School. In 1978, Dr. Shatz moved to 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...
, where she began her studies of the development of the mammalian visual system
Visual system
The visual system is the part of the central nervous system which enables organisms to process visual detail, as well as enabling several non-image forming photoresponse functions. It interprets information from visible light to build a representation of the surrounding world...
in the department of neurobiology. She became professor of neurobiology in 1989. In 1992, she moved her laboratory to the department of molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
, where she became a Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Howard Hughes Medical Institute is a United States non-profit medical research organization based in Chevy Chase, Maryland. It was founded by the American businessman Howard Hughes in 1953. It is one of the largest private funding organizations for biological and medical research in the United...
investigator. During 1994-1995 she was president of the Society for Neuroscience
Society for Neuroscience
The 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:...
and served on the Council of the National Academy of Sciences from 1998 to 2001. From 2000 until 2007, she was the chair of the Department of Neurobiology at Harvard Medical School and the Nathan Marsh Pusey Professor of Neurobiology. She also helped to develop the Harvard Center for Neurodegeneration and Repair (now named the NeuroDiscovery Center) and led the Harvard Center for Brain Imaging. Dr. Shatz is the inaugural chair holder of The Sapp Family
Provostial Professorship, holds professorship appointments in both the Biology department (School of Humanities and Sciences) and in Neurobiology (School of Medicine) and is director of the Bio-X program at Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine
Stanford University School of Medicine is a leading medical school located at Stanford University Medical Center in Stanford, California. Originally based in San Francisco, California as Cooper Medical College, it is the oldest continuously running medical school in the western United States...
.
Research
Dr. Shatz is one of the pioneers who determined some of the basic principles of early brain developmentDevelopmental biology
Developmental biology is the study of the process by which organisms grow and develop. Modern developmental biology studies the genetic control of cell growth, differentiation and "morphogenesis", which is the process that gives rise to tissues, organs and anatomy.- Related fields of study...
. She found that the spontaneous activity of neurons in utero
In utero
In utero is a Latin term literally meaning "in the womb". In biology, the phrase describes the state of an embryo or fetus. In legal contexts, the phrase is used to refer to unborn children. Under common law, unborn children are still considered to exist for property transfer purposes.-See also:*...
is critical for the formation of precise and orderly neural connections in the central nervous system
Central nervous system
The central nervous system is the part of the nervous system that integrates the information that it receives from, and coordinates the activity of, all parts of the bodies of bilaterian animals—that is, all multicellular animals except sponges and radially symmetric animals such as jellyfish...
. Her recent work shows that waves of spontaneous activity in the retina
Retina
The vertebrate retina is a light-sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye. The optics of the eye create an image of the visual world on the retina, which serves much the same function as the film in a camera. Light striking the retina initiates a cascade of chemical and electrical...
can alter gene expression
Gene expression
Gene expression is the process by which information from a gene is used in the synthesis of a functional gene product. These products are often proteins, but in non-protein coding genes such as ribosomal RNA , transfer RNA or small nuclear RNA genes, the product is a functional RNA...
and the strength of synaptic connections
Synapse
In the nervous system, a synapse is a structure that permits a neuron to pass an electrical or chemical signal to another cell...
.
Awards
Dr. Shatz's many honors include the Society for Neuroscience Young Investigator Award, the Gill Prize presented by the Indiana University Gill Center for Biomolecular Sciences, the Silvo Conte Award from the National Foundation for Brain Research, the Charles A. Dana Award for Pioneering Achievement in Health and Education, the Alcon Award for Outstanding Contributions to Vision Research, the Bernard Sachs Award from the Child Neurology Society, and the Weizmann Women & Science AwardWeizmann Women & Science Award
The Weizmann Women & Science Award is a biennial award established in 1994 to honor an outstanding woman scientist in the United States who has made significant contributions to the scientific community...
. She has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences
United States National Academy of Sciences
The National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
, the Institute of Medicine
Institute of Medicine
The Institute of Medicine is a not-for-profit, non-governmental American organization founded in 1970, under the congressional charter of the National Academy of Sciences...
, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
, the American Association for the Advancement of Science
American Association for the Advancement of Science
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is an international non-profit organization with the stated goals of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsibility, and supporting scientific education and science outreach for the...
, and the American Philosophical Society
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
. In 1997 she was invited by President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
and First Lady Hillary Clinton to speak at the White House Conference on Early Childhood Development and Learning.
Major publications
Sretavan D, Shatz CJ. (1984)Prenatal development of individual retinogeniculate axons during the period of
segregation.
Nature 308(5962):845-8.
McConnell SK, Ghosh A, Shatz CJ. (1989)
Subplate neurons pioneer the first axon pathway from the cerebral cortex.
Science 245(4921):978-82.
Ghosh A, Antonini A, McConnell SK, Shatz CJ. (1990)
Requirement for subplate neurons in the formation of thalamocortical
connections.
Nature 347(6289):179-81.
Meister M, Wong RO, Baylor DA, Shatz CJ. (1991)
Synchronous bursts of action potentials in ganglion cells of the developing
mammalian retina.
Science 252(5008):939-43.
Ghosh A, Shatz CJ. (1992)
Involvement of subplate neurons in the formation of ocular dominance columns.
Science 255(5050):1441-3.
Wong RO, Chernjavsky A, Smith SJ, Shatz CJ. (1995)
Early functional neural networks in the developing retina.
Nature 374(6524):716-8.
Katz LC, Shatz CJ. (1996)
Synaptic activity and the construction of cortical circuits.
Science 274(5290):1133-8. Review
Penn AA, Riquelme PA, Feller MB, Shatz CJ. (1998) Competition in retinogeniculate patterning driven by spontaneous activity.
Science 279(5359):2108-12.
Catalano SM, Shatz CJ. (1998)
Activity-dependent cortical target selection by thalamic axons.
Science 281(5376):559-62.
Stellwagen D, Shatz CJ, and Feller MB. (1999) Dynamic processes of a developing retinal circuit are controlled by c-AMP, Neuron 24: 673-685.
Huh GS, Du H, Boulanger LM, Riquelme P, Brotz TM, and Shatz CJ. (2000) Functional requirement for Class I MHC in CNS development and plasticity. Science 290:2155-2159.
Man-Kit Lam D and Shatz CJ. (Eds.) Development of the Visual
System. MIT Press, 1991. ISBN 0-262-12154-9.
Stellwagen D, Shatz CJ. (2002) An instructive role for retinal waves in the development of retinogeniculate connectivity. Neuron 33:357-367.
Kanold PO, Kara P, Reid RC, and Shatz CJ. (2003) The subplate is required for functional maturation of visual cortical columns. Science 301:521-525.
Boulanger LM, Shatz CJ. (2004) Immune signaling in neural development, synaptic plasticity, and disease. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 5: 521-531.
Tagawa Y, Kanold PO, Majdan M, Shatz CJ. (2005) Multiple periods of
functional ocular dominance plasticity in mouse visual cortex. Nature
Neuroscience 8(3):380-8.
Kanold PO, Shatz CJ. (2006) Subplate neurons regulate maturation of cortical inhibition and outcome of ocular dominance plasticity.
Neuron 51(5):627-38.
Syken J, Grandpre T, Kanold PO, Shatz CJ. (2006) PirB restricts ocular-dominance plasticity in visual cortex. Science 313(5794):1795-800.
Majdan M, Shatz CJ. (2006) Effects of visual experience on activity-dependent gene regulation in cortex. Nature Neuroscience 9(5):650-9.