Nancy Kanwisher

Nancy Kanwisher is the Walter A. Rosenblith Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences and a founding member of the McGovern Institute. She joined the MIT faculty in 1997, and prior to that served on the faculty at UCLA and Harvard University. Kanwisher investigates the functional organization of the brain as a window into the architecture of the human mind. In particular, she hones in to understand the scientific basis of sight and perception. The human brain includes more than 40 different areas devoted to vision. Kanwisher uses brain imaging and behavioral testing to study how these areas contribute to our perception of the visual world. Her lab has identified several regions of the brain that play specialized roles in the perception of specific categories of visual stimuli such as faces, places, and bodies. The Kanwisher lab is currently conducting studies across multiple areas, including: representation of visual arrays of multiple objects, the perceptual/cognitive functions that persist during diminished states of consciousness, and the role of feedback to retinotopic cortex in visual information processing. Kanwisher is also interested in understanding typical and atypical human brain development and is heading an ambitious project to explore the origins of autism using new pediatric neuroimaging technologies. She has received a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in Peace and International Security, a National Institute of Mental Health FIRST Award, the Troland Research Award of the National Academy of Sciences, and the Golden Brain award for her work and is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and the Society of Experimental Psychologists in addition to her American Academy of Arts and Sciences Membership. Her numerous publications appear in prominent journals such as Journal of Neuroscience, Nature, and Science.