1 | Name: | Dr. Torsten Nils Wiesel | |
Institution: | Rockefeller University | ||
Year Elected: | 1982 | ||
Class: | 2. Biological Sciences | ||
Subdivision: | 208. Plant Sciences | ||
Residency: | Resident | ||
Living? : | Living | ||
Birth Date: | 1924 | ||
Torsten Wiesel is a native of Sweden where he received an M.D. degree from the Karolinska Institute in 1954. In 1955, he joined the Johns Hopkins Medical School and in 1958 was named assistant professor in opthalmic physiology. In 1959, he joined Harvard Medical School and became Chairman of the Department of Neurobiology. He became the Robert Winthrop Professor in 1973. Dr. Wiesel's pioneering studies of the mammalian visual cortex have shaped current understanding of brain structure, function and development. Dr. Wiesel, with his long-time collaborator, Dr. David Hubel, received the 1981 Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology. In 1983, he joined Rockefeller University as Head of the Laboratory of Neurobiology and was named the Vincent and Brooke Astor Professor. He became the seventh President of Rockefeller University in 1992 and President Emeritus and Director of the Shelby White and Leon Levy Center for Mind, Brain and Behavior in 1998. Dr. Wiesel is a member of The National Academy of Sciences and The Royal Society. He has received numerous awards and prizes, including the 2012 Distinguished Service Award from the Hospital for Special Surgery, as well as honorary degrees from universities in the United States and Europe. Recently he received the nation's highest honor in science: the 2005 National Medal of Science. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1982. |