Judith S. Eisen
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Judith S. Eisen is an American neuroscientist and professor of biology at the
University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a Public university, public research university in Eugene, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1876, the university is organized into nine colleges and schools and offers 420 undergraduate and gra ...
. Eisen conducts fundamental research in the specification and patterning of the vertebrate nervous system with a focus on developmental interactions between the
nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the complex system, highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its behavior, actions and sense, sensory information by transmitting action potential, signals to and from different parts of its body. Th ...
,
immune system The immune system is a network of biological systems that protects an organism from diseases. It detects and responds to a wide variety of pathogens, from viruses to bacteria, as well as Tumor immunology, cancer cells, Parasitic worm, parasitic ...
, and host-associated
microbiota Microbiota are the range of microorganisms that may be commensal, mutualistic, or pathogenic found in and on all multicellular organisms, including plants. Microbiota include bacteria, archaea, protists, fungi, and viruses, and have been found ...
. Eisen is a member of the Institute of Neuroscience at the University of Oregon.


Education and career

Eisen received a BS in
botany Botany, also called plant science, is the branch of natural science and biology studying plants, especially Plant anatomy, their anatomy, Plant taxonomy, taxonomy, and Plant ecology, ecology. A botanist or plant scientist is a scientist who s ...
in 1973 and an MS in Cell and Developmental Biology in 1977, both from Utah State University. She received her PhD in neurobiology from
Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...
in 1982, where she worked in the lab of Eve Marder. She was a postdoctoral fellow in neurobiology at Brandeis from 1982–1983. Eisen started her career at the University of Oregon in 1983 as a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Monte Westerfield. She joined the faculty in 1985 as an assistant professor and currently holds the position of professor in the Department of Biology, also serving as a member of the Institute of Neuroscience. Eisen and the members of her lab are interested in discovering how cells become committed to differentiate their specific properties during embryonic development. They have focused their attention on neurons and neural crest cells in embryonic
zebrafish The zebrafish (''Danio rerio'') is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the family Danionidae of the order Cypriniformes. Native to South Asia, it is a popular aquarium fish, frequently sold under the trade name zebra danio (an ...
. Eisen was the first person to describe individually identified vertebrate spinal motoneurons. More recently she demonstrated requirements for the enteric nervous system to regulate bacterial competition and composition within the intestinal microbiota and how changes in the microbiota positively and negatively impact intestinal health. Eisen has published over 150 scientific papers with over 8800 citations, according to ResearchGate. Her lifetime research is profiled in the article ''Zebrafish Reveal How Bioelectricity Shapes Muscle Development'' which was published shortly after her election to the National Academy of Sciences in 2024. She served as director of the Institute of Neuroscience from 2004 to 2007. In 2004, she joined the editorial team of the journal ''Development for advances in developmental biology and stem cells'' as the 'zebrafish' editor. Shes has served on the editorial boards of ''Neural Development'' (2006–2019) and ''Zebrafish'' (2008–present). She was an editor of the volume ''The zebrafish in biomedical research: biology, husbandry, diseases, and research applications''.


Honors and awards

* 1983–1985  Muscular Dystrophy Association Postdoctoral Fellowship * 1986–1989  
Searle Scholar The Searle Scholars Program is a career development award made annually to support 15 young faculty in biomedical research and chemistry at US universities and research centers. The goal of the award is to support to exceptional young scientists wh ...
* 1991–1995  National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award * 1991–1995  
National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...
Research Career Development Award * 1996–1997   Burroughs Wellcome Travel Fellowship * 1996–1997  Fogarty Senior International Fellowship * 1997–1998  
National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Service ...
Senior Fellowship * 2008–2010 Foundation Faculty Excellence Fellowship * 2010–2011
John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon individuals who have demonstrated dis ...
* 2015    Association for the Study of Food and Society 2015 Pedagogy Award for "Bread 101" * 2015    University of Oregon Thomas F. Herman excellence in pedagogy award * 2015    Medical Research Foundation of Oregon's Discovery Award * 2017–   Rowland Distinguished Visiting Scholar at Harvard University * 2017–   Fellow,
American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...
* 2018–   Fellow,
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...
* 2018    University of Oregon Center for Undergraduate Research and Engagement Inaugural Faculty Research Mentor Award * 2018   University of Oregon Outstanding Career Award * 2018–2019 University of Oregon Faculty Excellence Award * 2020–2024 Gordon and Betty Moore Symbiosis in Aquatic Systems Investigator * 2020–2021 University of Oregon Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics Distinguished Scholar * 2024 Elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences


References


External links


University of Oregon Biology Department profile

University of Oregon Institute of Neuroscience profile

ZFIN Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Eisen, Judith S. Living people Brandeis University alumni University of Oregon faculty Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science American neuroscientists 20th-century American women scientists 21st-century American women scientists American women neuroscientists 1951 births