Download a high resolution photo of Ken Catania.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ñ Kenneth C. Catania, assistant professor of
biological sciences, has won the 2005 C.J. Herrick Award in
Neuroanatomy from the American Association of Anatomists.
The award is given annually "to recognize young investigators who have
made important contributions to the field of comparative neuroanatomy
and have demonstrated remarkable promise of future accomplishments."
Catania has studied the brains of moles, shrews, rats and other mammals
to determine how different brains have evolved. He became fascinated by
the star-nosed mole ñ a strange-looking creature with a star-shaped
cluster of appendages protruding from its nose ñ while working as a
research assistant for the National Zoological Park in Washington, D.C.
His studies of the finger-like appendages revealed their importance in
processing touch and body sensations and provided a unique model for
precise studies of how different areas in the brain’s cortex relate to
each other anatomically and physiologically. Expanding his research to
other mammals, Catania has completed the most extensive study to date
of cortical organization in shrews.
The award will be presented next April at the Experimental Biology 2005
meeting in San Diego. Catania will present an award lecture on "General
Principles from Specialized Species: What Star-Nosed Moles Tell Us
about Brains, Behavior and Evolution."
Media contact: David F. Salisbury, (615) 343-6803
david.salisbury@vanderbilt.edu