Date of Birth: November 7, 1929
Zodiac Sign: Scorpio
Date of Death: [Eric Kandel is still alive as of the knowledge cutoff date in 2023]
Biography
Eric Richard Kandel is an Austrian-American neuroscientist renowned for his work in the field of memory and learning. Born on November 7, 1929, in Vienna, Austria, Kandel and his family fled to the United States in 1939 to escape Nazi persecution. He pursued his education with a focus on history and literature at Harvard University, where he developed an interest in psychoanalysis and the biological basis of the mind. This interest led him to medical school at New York University, where he specialized in neurobiology. Kandel’s pioneering research in the 1960s and 1970s focused on the neural mechanisms underlying learning and memory in the sea slug Aplysia. His discoveries revealed the fundamental processes of synaptic plasticity, showing how changes in the strength of synaptic connections can form the basis for learning and memory. This groundbreaking work earned him the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2000, which he shared with Arvid Carlsson and Paul Greengard. Kandel has held various prestigious positions, including Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics at Columbia University and Senior Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. He has authored several influential books, such as “In Search of Memory: The Emergence of a New Science of Mind,” which chronicles both his personal journey and the scientific breakthroughs in understanding the brain.
5 Interesting Facts about Eric Kandel
1. Eric Kandel was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2000 for his research on the molecular mechanisms of memory storage.
2. He and his family fled Austria in 1939 to escape the Holocaust, relocating to the United States.
3. Kandel studied the sea slug Aplysia to uncover the fundamental principles of synaptic plasticity and memory.
4. He is a professor at Columbia University and a Senior Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
5. Kandel has authored over 500 scientific papers and several books, including his memoir, “In Search of Memory.”
5 Most Interesting Quotes from Eric Kandel
1. “We are who we are because of what we learn and what we remember.”
2. “The brain is an organ of astonishing complexity.”
3. “Memory is everything. Without it, we are nothing.”
4. “The ultimate creative capacity of the brain may be, for all practical purposes, infinite.”
5. “Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.”
Highest Net Worth Achieved
Eric Kandel’s highest net worth is estimated to be around $2 million.
Children
Eric Kandel has two children, Paul and Margaret Kandel.
Relevant Links
3. [Howard Hughes Medical Institute Profile](https://www.hhmi.org/scientists/eric-r-kandel
