2016 Gruber Neuroscience Prize

Mu-Ming Poo, PhD, of the University of California, Berkeley, and the Institute of Neuroscience (ION) at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Shanghai, has greatly advanced the field of neuroscience through his seminal discoveries regarding the molecular and cell mechanisms underlying synaptic plasticity, the ability of neurons to change their connections. His research approach has been exceptionally broad. In addition to his groundbreaking discoveries regarding synaptic plasticity, he has made important contributions in several other research areas, including neuronal polarization, the maturation of the neuromuscular junction, the molecular and cell mechanisms underlying axon guidance, and the neurotrophic regulation of synaptic functions.