Professor John O鈥橩eefe elected to the Royal Irish Academy

4 June 2019

Congratulations to Nobel-prize winning neuroscientist, Professor John O鈥橩eefe, who has been made an Honorary Member of the Royal Irish Academy (RIA).

Professor O鈥橩eefe (果冻影院 Cell & Developmental Biology) was awarded the Noble Prize for Physiology and Medicine in 2014, for his groundbreaking research on the brain鈥檚 hippocampus. 聽He discovered a type of nerve cell in the hippocampus, which constitutes a positioning system in the brain - an 'inner GPS' - that enables humans to orient themselves.

He was inducted into the RIA at a formal ceremony in Dublin on Friday May 24, 2019, along with 26 other academic experts in the fields of science and humanities.

On receiving the honour, Professor O鈥橩eefe, Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, said: "I am extremely pleased and honoured to be elected as an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Irish Academy. I plan to be an active member and to strengthen my ties with my European colleagues in Ireland."

Dean of 果冻影院 Faculty of Life Sciences, Professor Geraint Rees, said: 鈥�John O'Keefe is an inspirational neuroscientist whose discoveries about how space is coded in the hippocampus have fundamentally changed our view of how the brain works.

鈥淟ike many Nobel Laureates, John continues to be directly engaged in research at 果冻影院 and we are delighted that he will continue to pursue some of the most challenging experimental and theoretical problems in neuroscience.鈥�

On inducting the academy鈥檚 new members, RIA President Professor Peter Kennedy听蝉补颈诲:鈥淭hese individuals have made exceptional contributions in their fields of endeavour. We are delighted to recognise their achievements.鈥�

Professor O鈥橩eefe鈥檚 breakthrough research on the hippocampus, understanding how groups of specialised cells work together to execute higher cognitive functions, opened new avenues for understanding other cognitive processes, such as memory, thinking and planning.

He was jointly awarded the Nobel Prize with Professors May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, who identified a nerve cell that allows for precise positioning and pathfinding. The place cells and nerve cells discovered make it possible for the brain to determine position.

Image

Credit: Royal Irish Academy

Professor John O鈥橩eefe (right) next to聽RIA President Professor Peter Kennedy

Media Contact

Henry Killworth

Tel: +44 207 679 5296

E: h.killworth [at] ucl.ac.uk

果冻影院