January 14, 2011
LA JOLLA, CA—Salk researcher Edward M. Callaway, a professor in the Systems Neurobiology Laboratories has been awarded the distinction of AAAS Fellow for his “distinguished research on the organization and function of neocortical circuits.”
Election as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science is an honor bestowed upon members by their peers for their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science. The tradition of AAAS Fellows began in 1874. The new fellows will be honored during the 2011 AAAS annual meeting in Washington D.C. on Feb. 19.
Ed Callaway pioneered a method that allows him to trace a single neuron’s connections to its neighbors.
Image: Courtesy of David Lyon, Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Callaway’s research is aimed at understanding how neural circuits give rise to perception and behavior and focuses primarily on the organization and function of neural circuits in the visual cortex. Relating neural circuits to function in the visual system, where correlations between neural activity and perception can be directly tested, provides fundamental insight into the basic mechanisms by which cortical circuits mediate perception.
A native of Southern California, Callaway received his bachelor’s degree from Stanford University and his doctorate from the California Institute of Technology. After traveling east to conduct postdoctoral studies at Rockefeller University and Duke University, Callaway returned to California to join the Salk Institute where he has been a faculty member since 1995.
This year’s election of Dr. Callaway brings the total number of Salk Institute faculty currently designated as AAAS fellows to 13.
About the Salk Institute for Biological Studies:
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is one of the world’s preeminent basic research institutions, where internationally renowned faculty probe fundamental life science questions in a unique, collaborative, and creative environment. Focused both on discovery and on mentoring future generations of researchers, Salk scientists make groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of cancer, aging, Alzheimer’s, diabetes and infectious diseases by studying neuroscience, genetics, cell and plant biology, and related disciplines.
Faculty achievements have been recognized with numerous honors, including Nobel Prizes and memberships in the National Academy of Sciences. Founded in 1960 by polio vaccine pioneer Jonas Salk, M.D., the Institute is an independent nonprofit organization and architectural landmark.
About AAAS:
The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is the world’s largest general scientific society, and publisher of the journal, Science (www.sciencemag.org). AAAS was founded in 1848, and includes some 262 affiliated societies and academies of science, serving 10 million individuals. Science has the largest paid circulation of any peer-reviewed general science journal in the world, with an estimated total readership of 1 million. The non-profit AAAS (www.aaas.org) is open to all and fulfills its mission to “advance science and serve society” through initiatives in science policy; international programs; science education; and more. For the latest research news, log onto EurekAlert!, www.eurekalert.org, the premier science-news Web site, a service of AAAS.
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