Leo M. Chalupa
Encyclopedia
Leo M. Chalupa is Vice President for Research and Professor of Pharmacology and Physiology at George Washington University
. He was previously a Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and Neurobiology at the University of California, Davis
and Chairman of the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior where he also served as the Director of the UC Davis Center for Neuroscience and Interim Dean of the College of Biological Sciences.
, the visual system
, and the development of visual perception
. Using a combination of physiological, anatomical and molecular techniques his research has helped redefine the way we think about the visual system, by demonstrating how genetic and environmental factors play complementary roles in shaping the proper wiring of the visual system
.
Specifically, his work has shown that neuronal activity does not instruct the formation of specific connections in the developing visual system
, a view widely held in the field of developmental neurobiology. This involved performing the first ever recordings from the primate fetal retina and the manufacture of a novel neurotoxin
that selectively depletes cholinergic
neurons from the developing retina
.
He is a co-editor of Development and Organization of the Retina: From Molecules to Function (1998)
, The Visual Neurosciences Vol. 1&2 (2004)
, Eye, Retina, and Visual System of the Mouse (2008)
, and Cerebral Plasticity: New Perspectives (2011)
He is a Fellow of the AAAS
and of the Association for Psychological Science
, a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship
and a Fellowship from the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science. He has been a visiting scholar at Cambridge University, the Scuola Normale Superiore (Pisa, Italy) and the University of Pisa as well as Osaka University. He attended Stuyvesant High School
in New York City, graduated from Queens College, City University of New York
with a bachelor’s degree in physiological psychology, earned his doctorate in neuropsychology at the City University of New York, and served a post-doctoral fellowship at the Brain Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles
. He received an honorary doctorate from Queens College in 2011. He co-founded two companies, Immunotox Inc and SciVee
.
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
. He was previously a Distinguished Professor of Ophthalmology and Neurobiology at the University of California, Davis
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
and Chairman of the Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior where he also served as the Director of the UC Davis Center for Neuroscience and Interim Dean of the College of Biological Sciences.
Works
His research involves trying to understand how humans and other animals are able to perceive our surroundings and translate that into brain function which in turn leads to some action. For example, an animal identifying a predator and fleeing. Consequently, his research involves studying the retinaRetina
The vertebrate retina is a light-sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye. The optics of the eye create an image of the visual world on the retina, which serves much the same function as the film in a camera. Light striking the retina initiates a cascade of chemical and electrical...
, the visual system
Visual system
The visual system is the part of the central nervous system which enables organisms to process visual detail, as well as enabling several non-image forming photoresponse functions. It interprets information from visible light to build a representation of the surrounding world...
, and the development of visual perception
Visual perception
Visual perception is the ability to interpret information and surroundings from the effects of visible light reaching the eye. The resulting perception is also known as eyesight, sight, or vision...
. Using a combination of physiological, anatomical and molecular techniques his research has helped redefine the way we think about the visual system, by demonstrating how genetic and environmental factors play complementary roles in shaping the proper wiring of the visual system
Visual system
The visual system is the part of the central nervous system which enables organisms to process visual detail, as well as enabling several non-image forming photoresponse functions. It interprets information from visible light to build a representation of the surrounding world...
.
Specifically, his work has shown that neuronal activity does not instruct the formation of specific connections in the developing visual system
Visual system
The visual system is the part of the central nervous system which enables organisms to process visual detail, as well as enabling several non-image forming photoresponse functions. It interprets information from visible light to build a representation of the surrounding world...
, a view widely held in the field of developmental neurobiology. This involved performing the first ever recordings from the primate fetal retina and the manufacture of a novel neurotoxin
Neurotoxin
A neurotoxin is a toxin that acts specifically on nerve cells , usually by interacting with membrane proteins such as ion channels. Some sources are more general, and define the effect of neurotoxins as occurring at nerve tissue...
that selectively depletes cholinergic
Cholinergic
The word choline generally refers to the various quaternary ammonium salts containing the N,N,N-trimethylethanolammonium cation. Found in most animal tissues, choline is a primary component of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine and functions with inositol as a basic constituent of lecithin...
neurons from the developing retina
Retina
The vertebrate retina is a light-sensitive tissue lining the inner surface of the eye. The optics of the eye create an image of the visual world on the retina, which serves much the same function as the film in a camera. Light striking the retina initiates a cascade of chemical and electrical...
.
He is a co-editor of Development and Organization of the Retina: From Molecules to Function (1998)
, The Visual Neurosciences Vol. 1&2 (2004)
, Eye, Retina, and Visual System of the Mouse (2008)
, and Cerebral Plasticity: New Perspectives (2011)
He is a Fellow of the AAAS
Fellow of the AAAS
Fellow of the AAAS is an honor accorded by the American Association for the Advancement of Science to distinguished persons who are members of the Association. Fellows are elected annually by the AAAS Council for "efforts on behalf of the advancement of science or its applications [which] are...
and of the Association for Psychological Science
Association for Psychological Science
The Association for Psychological Science , previously the American Psychological Society, is a non-profit international organization whose mission is to promote, protect, and advance the interests of scientifically oriented psychology in research, application, teaching, and the improvement of...
, a recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
and a Fellowship from the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science. He has been a visiting scholar at Cambridge University, the Scuola Normale Superiore (Pisa, Italy) and the University of Pisa as well as Osaka University. He attended Stuyvesant High School
Stuyvesant High School
Stuyvesant High School , commonly referred to as Stuy , is a New York City public high school that specializes in mathematics and science. The school opened in 1904 on Manhattan's East Side and moved to a new building in Battery Park City in 1992. Stuyvesant is noted for its strong academic...
in New York City, graduated from Queens College, City University of New York
Queens College, City University of New York
Queens College, located in Flushing, Queens, New York City, is one of the senior colleges of the City University of New York. It is also the fifth oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning. The college's seventy seven acre campus is located in the heart of the...
with a bachelor’s degree in physiological psychology, earned his doctorate in neuropsychology at the City University of New York, and served a post-doctoral fellowship at the Brain Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles
University of California, Los Angeles
The University of California, Los Angeles is a public research university located in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, USA. It was founded in 1919 as the "Southern Branch" of the University of California and is the second oldest of the ten campuses...
. He received an honorary doctorate from Queens College in 2011. He co-founded two companies, Immunotox Inc and SciVee
SciVee
SciVee is a science video sharing website where researchers can upload, view and share science video clips and connect them to scientific literature, posters and slides...
.