Michael M. Merzenich, Ph.D.

University of California at San Francisco
As co-founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Posit Science, Michael Merzenich heads the company’s global team. For more than three decades, Dr. Merzenich has been a leading pioneer in brain plasticity research. In the late 1980s, Dr. Merzenich was on the team that invented the cochlear implant, now distributed by market leader Advanced Bionics. In 1996, Dr. Merzenich was the founding CEO of Scientific Learning Corporation (Nasdaq: SCIL), which markets and distributes software that applies principles of brain plasticity to assist children with language learning and reading. Dr. Merzenich has received awards and prizes (including the Ipsen Prize, Zülch Prize of the Max Planck Institute, Thomas Alva Edison Patent Award and Purkinje Medal), received more than 50 patents for his work, and published more than 200 articles, including many in leading peer-reviewed journals (such as Science and Nature). This work has inspired the National Academy of Sciences to elect him as a member. Dr. Merzenich’s is also often covered in the popular press, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Time, Forbes, and Newsweek. He has also appeared extensively on television, and had his work featured on a PBS special titled “The Brain Fitness Program.” Dr. Merzenich earned his BS degree at the University of Portland and his PhD at Johns Hopkins. He retired from his long career at the University of California at San Francisco in 2007.

Website:
http://www.onthebrain.com/