David Jentsch, UCLA professor of psychiatry and psychology, and Dario Ringach, professor of neurobiology and psychology, have received the 2014 Biomedical Research Leadership Award from the California Biomedical Research Association.
Jentsch and Ringach were selected in recognition of their dedicated work in the field of biomedical research and for the roles they have played nationally in calling attention to the need for public outreach, advocacy and education on the issue of the humane use of animals in biomedical research and discovery. They have made known the challenges and illegal actions by extremists that researchers face daily, and the critical need for education and outreach to the general public, the media and among students.
The two professors were previously honored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science for bravery in the face of threats from extremists.
Jentsch’s research focuses on the neurobiological mechanisms that lead to a loss of self-control in addictive disorders. He and a colleague from Yale proposed the view that the relapsing nature of drug and alcohol addictions may be best explained by pathology within brain circuits involved in inhibitory control of behavior.
Ringach’s research interests include visual neurophysiology and perception. He studies cortical dynamics, circuitry, function and mathematical modeling of receptive fields.
