Martha Constantine-Paton, a professor in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and an investigator at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research at MIT has been awarded the Society for Neuroscience’s (SfN) Mika Salpeter Lifetime Achievement Award.
The award recognizes individuals with outstanding career achievements in neuroscience who have also actively promoted the professional advancement of women in neuroscience. Constantine-Paton will be recognized for her achievements during SfN’s annual meeting this October.
Over the past 30 years, Constantine-Paton has established a reputation as a leading figure in the field of developmental neuroscience. In particular, her pioneering work on NMDA receptor-dependent plasticity laid the groundwork for our current understanding of how the brain becomes correctly wired in response to activity and experience.
She has also mentored many students and postdocs, among them several prominent women scientists, and she is very active in promoting the career development of her junior colleagues.
“Martha’s research contributions have been extremely influential within her field, and her influence has also been felt through her exemplary record of mentoring and service,” says McGovern Institute Director Robert Desimone. “Martha’s career indeed represents a lifetime of achievement and I cannot imagine a more deserving recipient for this honor.”