Dr. Nancy Kopell

Biography

Nancy Kopell is the William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor at Boston University, where she is the co-director of the Center for Computational Neuroscience, Neural Technology (CompNet). She has been a pioneer in the field of computational neuroscience, focusing on the mathematical problems underlying brain dynamics and their cognitive implications. Her Ph.D. training is in pure mathematics, which she transitioned into applied mathematics, working on pattern formation in chemical systems and oscillating systems problems. For decades, she has tackled mathematical problems in neuroscience, especially studying how brain rhythms contribute to cognition and the physiological mechanisms behind them. Her research includes understanding how brain dynamics can illuminate symptoms of neurological diseases such as Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, and epilepsy. She collaborates extensively with experimentalists and clinicians, fostering interdisciplinary research in the field. Kopell is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and has received numerous accolades, including fellowships from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the London Mathematical Society, among others. She has been recognized with various named lectureships and has an honorary doctorate from the New Jersey Institute of Technology.

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