2014 Recipients

 For seminal contributions to our understanding of neurotransmission and neurodegeneration.

Roger Nicoll received his medical training at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and his research training at the National Institutes of Health.  Following work with Nobel laureate John Eccles he joined the University of California at San Francisco where he has remained. He has used in vitro brain slice preparations to define the numerous neurotransmitters that mediated synaptic transmission and characterized how these neurotransmitters control neuronal excitability and plasticity. More recently he has discovered a family of auxiliary receptor proteins that are essential for the activity dependent trafficking of synaptic glutamate receptors, a process thought to underlie certain forms of learning and memory. For his contributions he has received numerous awards including election to the National Academy of Science.