The 2026 Kavli Prize Committee in Neuroscience
Edvard Moser (chair)
Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway
Edvard Ingjald Moser is a Norwegian neuroscientist and professor at NTNU, renowned for his pioneering work on the neural basis of spatial representation and memory. He shared the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with May-Britt Moser and John O’Keefe for the discovery of place cells (O´Keefe) and grid cells (Mosers), key components of the brain’s internal navigation system. His more recent research focuses on the mechanisms of neural circuit computation, using the spatial coding system as a model.
Peter Dayan
Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Germany
Peter Dayan is a computational neuroscientist and director at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics in Tübingen, Germany. His work bridges computational models and biological theories, particularly in the areas of learning and decision-making. He is a co-author of one of the early textbooks in the field.
Mary E. Hatten
Rockefeller University, USA
Mary Elizabeth Hatten is the Frederick P. Rose Professor of Neuroscience at Rockefeller University, where she heads the Laboratory of Developmental Neurobiology. She is renowned for her discoveries on neuronal migration during brain development, advancing understanding of neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and epilepsy. Hatten established an independent laboratory at Rockefeller University and has been a pioneer for women in neuroscience research leadership at the institution. She is a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and received the Ralph W. Gerard Prize in Neuroscience.
Christine Petit
Institut Pasteur, France
Christine Petit is a French geneticist and neuroscientist working at Institut Pasteur and Collège de France. She was the founding director of the Hearing Institute in Paris. Her research on the genetic basis of human sensory disorders includes pioneering work in which she successfully identified genes responsible for deafness. She used these genes for uncovering the molecular mechanisms underlying the functioning and dysfunctioning of the auditory system, which led her to develop the first gene therapy approachto cure deafness. She has received major international honours, notably the Kavli Prize in Neuroscience, the Brain Prize, and the Gruber Prize.
Carla Shatz
Stanford University, USA
Carla J. Shatz is an American neuroscientist and professor at Stanford University, recognised for her work on how neuronal activity shapes the development and refinement of brain circuits. She received the 2016 Kavli Prize in Neuroscience for elucidating mechanisms by which experience and neural activity remodel brain function, linking developmental connectivity patterns to learning and memory processes.
