Speaker Profile
PMWC PIONEER AWARD
Nobel Laureate & Revealed the molecular machinery of synaptic transmission
M.D., Nobel Laureate, Professor & Investigator, Stanford
Biography
Thomas Christian Südhof is a neuroscientist whose work has focused on how neurons communicate with each other at synapses. Südhof’s postdoctoral work with Drs. Mike Brown and Joe Goldstein at UT Southwestern in Dallas, TX, examined cholesterol metabolism, but he switched his research focus to neuroscience to study synapses when he started his own laboratory in 1986. Here, Südhof’s research initially studied how a presynaptic neuron rapidly secretes neurotransmitters, which initiates synaptic transmission. This work revealed a general mechanism of regulated secretion which was honored by a Nobel Prize in 2013 shared with Jim Rothman and Randy Scheckman. More recently, Südhof’s studies focused on how synapses in brain are formed and shaped, resulting in the identification of trans-neuronal signaling networks that control synaptic connections. Moreover, Südhof’s work addressed how these synaptic connections become impaired in schizophrenia and Alzheimer’s disease, with the hope of gaining access to possible new therapeutic avenues.
Session Abstract – PMWC 2027 Silicon Valley
Track Chair:
David Liebeskind, UCLA
PMWC Award Ceremony
• Li-Huei Tsai, MIT Picower Institute (Pioneer)
• Thomas C. Südhof, Stanford (Nobel Laureate, Pioneer)
• David Holtzman, WashU (Pioneer)
• Henrik Zetterberg, UCL / Gothenburg (Luminary)
Featured Speakers
• Thomas C. Südhof, Stanford
• Li-Huei Tsai, MIT Picower Institute
• David Holtzman, WashU
• Henrik Zetterberg, UCL / Gothenburg
• Mark Mintun, Lilly
• Randall Bateman, WashU
• Nikolaos Mellios, Circular Genomics
• Robert Rissman, USC
• Lynn Kramer, Eisai
• Thomas F. Tropea, University of Pennsylvania
• Ari J. Green, UCSF
• Diane Chan, Mass General Brigham
• Leslie Shaw, University of Pennsylvania
• Prashanthi Vemuri, Mayo Clinic
• Kejal Kantarci, Mayo Clinic
• Dan Huddleston, Lightbox Science
• Patrick Brannelly, 10K Brains
• Allan Levey, Emory
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Previous Speakers Include
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