Neuroscientist named Wells Fargo Faculty Scholar
Wake Forest University has announced that Boswell Presidential Chair in Neuroscience and Society Kenneth T. Kishida is its newest Wells Fargo Faculty Scholar.
The Wells Fargo Foundation established an endowment in 2011 to accelerate innovative and entrepreneurial research at Wake Forest. Candidates for the Wells Fargo Faculty Scholar award come from both the Reynolda campus and the School of Medicine.
Kishida is internationally recognized for his work on the neurocomputational mechanisms underlying learning, decision-making and conscious experience. As a professor in the Department of Biology and the Departments of Translational Neuroscience and Neurosurgery in the School of Medicine, he is positioned to foster deeper collaboration across campuses and academic disciplines.
Kishida is renowned for developing a first-of-its-kind method to measure brain chemicals like dopamine and serotonin in real time in humans, an unprecedented achievement in neuroscience. Using a tiny sensor inserted during awake brain surgery, his team can track these neurochemical signals up to 10 times per second as patients perform a variety of conscious and unconscious decision-making tasks. This breakthrough offers new insight into how brain chemistry shapes behavior, mood, and mental health.
“Ken Kishida is a visionary neuroscientist and educator whose work on understanding brain function bridges the biomedical sciences and the humanities,” said Kimberley McAllister, Ph.D., Vice Provost for Research, Scholarly Inquiry and Creative Activity. “We are grateful to the Wells Fargo Foundation for its generous support of a scholar committed to innovative research and improving lives.”
Kishida has published more than 30 peer-reviewed articles in leading journals such as Neuron, Nature Human Behaviour, PLoS Biology, and Science Advances, as well as three peer-reviewed book chapters, and has numerous articles, invited presentations, and symposia contributions. His scholarship has been cited in scientific books, mainstream media, and legal settings.
“I’m honored to be recognized as the next Wells Fargo Faculty Scholar,” Kishida said.
“This award complements a new and really exciting initiative at Wake Forest that aims to synergize and inspire collaborative scholarly activity between the Neurosciences and Humanities.”
Kenneth T. Kishida
“Bringing together intellectual and scholarly leaders within these disciplines promises to bring innovation and discovery in a socially responsible way that will have a lasting positive impact on our students and our society.”
Kishida is the fifth Wells Fargo Scholar. Previous awards went to Jason Fanning, Ph.D, associate professor in the Reynolda campus’s health and exercise science department, and Dr. King Chuen Peter Li, Dr. Dawen Zhao and Dr. Ramon Llull at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.
Categories: Research & Discovery, University Announcements
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