Niall William Duncan

研究大腦的自我組織機制 探索大腦錯亂的影響

Why do we experience something and not nothing? Progress is driven by people being curious about questions such as these. Behind every technological marvel lies the work of the many unsung people who were, at some point in time, just curious about something. How our conscious experience arises from the matter that abides in our heads is, of course, no small question. My curiosity about it has led me to ask subsequent questions about how that matter – the populations of neurons and glia – organises itself. More specifically, I have been looking at the different neurotransmitters in the brain and how they modulate the dynamic interactions between brain regions that must ultimately produce our experience. As part of this, I have done work with different psychiatric and neurological disorders. Understanding what changes at the physical level when our experience becomes disorganised, or disappears entirely, can provide insight into the system as a whole. That insight may, of course, also ultimately lead to tools that can help those suffering from such conditions. Scientific progress cannot be made without rigour though; nor can it happen without collaboration and sharing. As such, I also work on methodological questions and on Open Science practices and resources.

得獎感言

I am grateful to have been nominated for this award, and even more so to have been chosen as a recipient. The contributions to science that are being recognised through it are of course the product of the work of many, many people. I am lucky to have had the chance to be part of such wonderful teams. It is a pleasure also to be ranked amongst the other recipients this year and to see the great science being done all around. I look forward to all the discoveries to come.