Lisa Stowers

Lisa Stowers is a Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Scripps Research.
She obtained her PhD at Harvard University in 1997. She then joined Catherine Dulac's lab as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Post-doctoral Fellow to undertake the study of how the brain translates odor sensation into fundamental social and survival behavior. In 2002 she began independent work at Scripps Research where she remains today. She has been a finalist for the Eppendorf & Science Prize for Neurobiology; and named a Pew Scholar and Ellison Medical Foundation Senior Scholar in Neuroscience.

The Stowers Lab is focusing on natural, innate animal social behavior that is highly conserved across species such as courtship, rage, fear, and newborn-parent interactions. In this model, the state of the mind of an animal is easier to interpret and the brain mechanisms and function are accessible to scientific testing. Moreover, this research strategy provides a window into most aspects of brain function. To trigger social behavior the brain must engage computations such as learning and memory, sensory coding, motivation, sexual dimorphism, age-related changes, and integrate internal state needs such as hunger or sleepiness. The Stowers' group is using the platform of innate social behavior to understand these important features of general coding logic to explain how the brain works. To learn more visit here.

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