Jump to content

Steve Ramirez

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Steve Ramirez (born 1988) is a neuroscientist whose professional career centers around the manipulation of the brain's physical properties.[1][2] Through his work, Ramirez aims to find methods of relief for symptoms of mental health disorders through the use of optogenetics.[3][4]

Ramirez graduated from MIT in 2010 and later earned his Ph.D. in neuroscience for his work on memories in the lab of Susumu Tonegawa.[5][6]

Early life

[edit]

Ramirez was born in Massachusetts to Salvadoran immigrants and grew up in Everett, Massachusetts. His parents, older brother, and sister escaped wartime El Salvador towards the end of the 1970s and came to the United States.[2] In his early teens, Ramirez's cousin experienced atrophy and coma during childbirth, which influenced Ramirez's curiosity on the topic of neuroscience, and the ability to physically manipulate brain chemistry.[1] He later attended high school in Massachusetts.

Ramirez attended college at Boston University in Massachusetts where he was trying to find an academic field that suited him. His girlfriend at the time suggested to Ramirez that he should seek guidance from the head of department of the neuroscience program at Boston University. Ramirez agreed, and began to be mentored by the head of department, where he developed a passion for the field of work and found a community among the members of the program. When Ramirez and his girlfriend broke up, he was inspired to see if he could change the feelings behind those memories while keeping the memory intact.[7][5]

Throughout the rest of his education, Ramirez decided to focus his studies on the neuroscience of memory, which began the path of his career and achievements.[5] After graduating from college in 2010, Ramirez joined the lab of Susumu Tonegawa where he continued his studies, and eventually earned his Ph.D. in neuroscience. Ramirez's earliest scientific work occurred with the help of his mentor, Xu Liu, who Ramirez attributes much of his achievements to, and claims that Liu taught him many skills necessary for their work.[2]

Career

[edit]

Steve Ramirez is known for his studies on memory where he went on to publish six research articles under Tonegawa Susumu's lab.[8][9][10][11][12][13] Ramirez and Liu also gave a TED Talk in which they discussed their research. Ramirez expressed how he was manipulating the brain cells of mice to respond to pulses of light and manipulate their memories. He was aiming to make this process accessible to humans as well to treat mental illness.[7]

Awards

[edit]
  • 2014 Smithsonian American Ingenuity award along with his associate Xu Liu, PhD., for their work on artificial reaction and creation of memories[14]
  • Featured in Forbes' 30 under 30 in 2015, being recognized among young influential scientists[15]

Selected publications

[edit]
  1. [8]
  2. [10]
  3. [9]
  4. [11]
  5. [12]
  6. [13]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b "Steve Ramirez". MIT Technology Review. Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  2. ^ a b c "The 30 Top Thinkers Under 30: Steve Ramirez, 26, Neuroscience". Pacific Standard. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  3. ^ "Steve Ramirez". explorer-directory.nationalgeographic.org. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  4. ^ "Steve Ramirez, Ph.D." Steve Ramirez, Ph.D. | Brain & Behavior Research Foundation. 2023-05-20. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
  5. ^ a b c "Steve Ramirez Reshapes Memories in the Brains of Mice". The Scientist Magazine®. Retrieved 2023-11-06.
  6. ^ "Emerging Scholar Profile: Ramirez Finds That Relationships Remain Key in Psychological and Brain Sciences". Diverse: Issues In Higher Education. 2018-02-04. Retrieved 2023-11-09.
  7. ^ a b "Steve Ramirez: If We Could Erase Memories ... Should We?". TED RADIO HOUR. NPR. October 13, 2017.
  8. ^ a b Liu, X.; Ramirez, S.; Pang, P. T.; Puryear, C. B.; Govindarajan, A.; Deisseroth, K.; Tonegawa, S. (2012). "Optogenetic stimulation of a hippocampal engram activates fear memory recall". Nature. 484 (7394): 381–385. doi:10.1038/nature11028. PMC 3331914. PMID 22441246.
  9. ^ a b Redondo, R. L.; Kim, J.; Arons, A. L.; Ramirez, S.; Liu, X.; Tonegawa, S. (2014). "Bidirectional switch of the valence associated with a hippocampal contextual memory engram". Nature. 513 (7518): 426–430. doi:10.1038/nature13725. PMC 4169316. PMID 25162525.
  10. ^ a b Ramirez, S.; Liu, X.; Lin, P. A.; Suh, J.; Pignatelli, M.; Redondo, R. L.; Ryan, T. J.; Tonegawa, S. (2013). "Creating a false memory in the hippocampus". Science. 341 (6144): 387–391. doi:10.1126/science.1239073. hdl:1721.1/85964. PMID 23888038.
  11. ^ a b Ramirez, S.; Liu, X.; MacDonald, C. J.; Moffa, A.; Zhou, J.; Redondo, R. L.; Tonegawa, S. (2015). "Activating positive memory engrams suppresses depression-like behaviour". Nature. 522 (7556): 335–339. doi:10.1038/nature14514. PMC 5583720. PMID 26085274.
  12. ^ a b Ramirez, S. (2018). "Crystallizing a memory". Science. 360 (6394): 1182–1183. doi:10.1126/science.aau0043. PMID 29903960.
  13. ^ a b Shpokayte, M.; McKissick, O.; Guan, X.; Yuan, B.; Rahsepar, B.; Fernandez, F. R.; Ruesch, E.; Grella, S. L.; White, J. A.; Liu, X. S.; Ramirez, S. (2022). "Hippocampal cells segregate positive and negative engrams". Communications Biology. 5 (1): 1009. doi:10.1038/s42003-022-03906-8. PMC 9512908. PMID 36163262.
  14. ^ "Xu Liu and Steve Ramirez win 2014 American Ingenuity Award". MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 2014-10-27. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
  15. ^ "Steve Ramirez". explorer-directory.nationalgeographic.org. Retrieved 2023-10-26.
Retrieved from "https://wiki.riteme.site/w/index.php?title=Steve_Ramirez&oldid=1251329342"